


rose-colored boy

by s_coups



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, College Parties, Lee Jihoon | Woozi/Min Yoongi | Suga - Freeform, M/M, Polyamory, Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2018-12-29 17:02:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12089430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/s_coups/pseuds/s_coups
Summary: seokmin's feelings are soft, and jihoon is anything but.





	rose-colored boy

**Author's Note:**

> alternatively titled "that one coffee shop au where i, a barista, debunk all your romanticizing of coffee shops" (i mean this, it's literally just burning yourself on steamed milk and 240 degree coffee)  
> title is from the song of the same name by paramore! i also created a playlist for this fic (in no particular order, just songs i listened to while writing) which you can [listen to here!](https://open.spotify.com/user/efirny/playlist/2FIZnH8rxk6PMI5aIBHnj1?si=2qVguheiQIGcuXeNwSMCbA)  
> other prominent ships in this fic that i didn't tag include 95 line, meanie/junhui, hansol/seungkwan, and minghao/kyulkyung  
> 

The only thing that can haul Lee Seokmin's lazy ass out of bed for his eight am class is the promise of coffee and possibly a bagel. The only thing that can get him to get dressed and showered in time to rush out the door so they  _ have  _ time to get said coffee, is the promise of someone else paying for it.

This is how he finds himself shivering in the shower at six fifty in the morning, the warm spray of water doing nothing to warm him up from the chilly air of the apartment. The AC wasn't even turned on that high; Mingyu just liked it cold and Seokmin couldn't adjust to it well, but he was too nice to ask the other boy to turn it off, despite it being the middle of January.

Outside the bathroom door, he can vaguely hear said boy sliding down the hallway in his socks, banging on the bedroom door of Minghao and shouting at him to wake up. There's a loud aching groan from the boiler, located somewhere between the walls, which signifies someone in the other bathroom flushing. Seokmin grits his teeth and bares the few moments when the water turns freezing.

"Seokmin's in the shower, you asshole!" Mingyu yells, and Seokmin is grateful he said something but it wasn't going to stop the other boys from using the toilet. 

He rinses the conditioner out of his hair and hopes to god he has a clean sweater somewhere in his room, because he was not wearing a t-shirt again, even if it was the only thing that had been washed in the past two weeks.

He turns off the water, shivering even harder when the warmth is taken from him and he's forced back into the cold air. He wraps a towel around his shoulders like a blanket, pushing his wet bangs out of his eyes. He wipes the steam off the bathroom mirror, and just as he does, the door bursts open, almost hitting him in the shin.

He glares at the intruder, and Wonwoo just flashes him a grin, shoving his way in and closing the door behind him. The older boy doesn't seem bothered at all by Seokmin's being half naked, and instead proceeds to lift the toilet seat and unzip his jeans.

Seokmin groans. "Can you wait until I'm finished to pee?

Wonwoo laughs, and Seokmin looks the other way when he hears him start peeing anyway. "Nah."

Huffing to himself, Seokmin grabs his toothbrush and busies himself with brushing his teeth, trying not to accidentally see Wonwoo's dick.

The door bangs open again. "Oh, come on!" Seokmin complains, glaring at Mingyu who was now standing in the doorway, giving Wonwoo an amused look.

"Uh, we gotta go now or Minghao's gonna miss his seven thirty class," Mingyu announces, not taking his eyes off Wonwoo, who has finally zipped up his pants and flushed. "Did you just whip your dick out in front of Seokmin?"

Wonwoo shrugs, pushing past both of them and patting Mingyu on the cheek as he passes. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

Mingyu snorts, then chokes suddenly and shouts after him, "Oh my god, you didn't even wash your hands!"

He runs after the older boy, and Seokmin takes the opportunity to collect his pajamas off the floor and slip into his room.

He finds a pair of jeans on the floor that don't look too dirty, and a pair of thick winter socks that have hearts on them that Mingyu will most definitely make fun of him for later, but he can't seem to find a clean sweater. A glance out the window shows it didn't snow, but the grass and trees are laced with a sparkling layer of frost.

He pokes his head into Minghao's room, where the other boy is sitting on his bed pulling on his boots. "Do you have a sweater I can borrow?"

Minghao nods. "Yeah, somewhere in there," He replies, waving his hand towards his dresser. Seokmin thanks him and after digging around awhile, finds a nice pink cable knit sweater. He holds it up to his bare chest in front of the mirror. It matched his socks.

"Since when do you own anything that isn't black?" Seokmin asks, and when Minghao looks up he almost chokes.

"Some girl left that here," He says, raising an eyebrow. He leans back on his hands, looking Seokmin up and down. Minghao himself looked like he was part of a biker gang, from his ripped jeans to his leather jacket and boots, but Seokmin knows for a fact the other boy would probably cry if he tried to get on a motorcycle. "Nice socks."

Seokmin shrugs, pulling the sweater on anyway. It fit snugly, not too tight despite being made for a woman. Minghao gets to his feet, picking over the clothes strewn along his floor in search of his book bag.

"Lucky you have a twink body or that would be ripping at the seams right now," Minghao comments smugly, and Seokmin resists the urge to hit him.

 

Seokmin doesn't realize until fifteen minutes into the car ride, squished between Minghao and a grumpy Soonyoung (who has looked half asleep since they banged on his front door and woke him up) in Mingyu's beat up old car that the drive to Starbucks was taking longer than usual.

"Wait, where are we going?" He pipes up. The music Mingyu was blasting made it unable for him to be heard by anyone but Minghao, who kicks the back of Wonwoo's seat until he lowers the volume and shouts back, "What?!"

"Where are we going?" Seokmin repeats.

Mingyu grins at him through the rearview mirror. "New coffee shop off campus."

Soonyoung whines unhappily, his puffy coat looking more like a sleeping bag with the hood up and his face buried halfway in it. "Why can't we just go to Starbucks?"

Wonwoo clears his throat. "Because there's a barista at the new place who Mingyu wants to fuck, and he needs brownie points with him."

Soonyoung makes a petulant noise, burrowing further into his coat and crossing his arms.

"How does that work?" Minghao asks. "Is Mingyu going to fuck him while you watch? Are you going to fuck him, too? Is Mingyu going to watch?"

Wonwoo pulls the lever on the side of his seat so it drops backwards, landing in Minghao's lap and hitting him in the stomach. Minghao curses at him, and Wonwoo just snickers.

"Hopefully he'll let us tag team him," Mingyu finally says, and Soonyoung and Seokmin both groan in unison.

"It's too early for that!" Seokmin cries, and Mingyu just joins in on Wonwoo's laughter.

 

They stumble into the coffee shop all at once, each one of them trying to shove in first to get to the warmth of the heater the fastest. The bell on the door dings wildly as they enter, nearly tripping over each other and talking louder than the last. The shop is mostly empty, except for two or three students hunched over their laptops in the corner, who don't even look up when they enter.

At the register, a boy stands, chin in his hand, watching the group with an amused look. He looks too handsome to be working at a coffee shop, tall and dark, with chiseled features and sharp eyes. When they finally approach him, Mingyu pulls off his gloves and wipes his palms on his jeans nervously, and Seokmin knows this must be the barista he's smitten with.

"Hi," Mingyu says, a little shakily, and beside him Minghao snorts. Wonwoo jabs the younger boy in the ribs, and Minghao spits out a string of curses in Chinese, glaring at the elder.

"Hey, now, no cursing," The barista says, eyeing Minghao. "You're not the only one who can speak Chinese here."

Minghao looks a bit stunned, and falls silent. Mingyu smiles too big at the boy, looking pleased that he shut Minghao up. Seokmin squints at the boy’s name tag; it reads " _ Junhui _ " in flourished handwriting.

"What can I get you boys?" Junhui asks, smiling between them all. Soonyoung immediately pushes forward, shouldering Mingyu out of the way.

"I need a large black Americano, extra hot," He announces. He still hasn't taken his jacket off, the big, fur hood making it almost impossible to see him unless he was being faced head on. "And when I say hot, I mean like, I want to scald my tongue. I wanna feel that shit."

Junhui laughs loudly, punching his order into the machine in front of him. "Sounds good. Name?"

"Soonyoung," Soonyoung says, before he's sulking off to claim one of the comfy looking chairs across the room. Junhui looks after him with a raised brow.

"So, I'm assuming one of you is gonna pay for his coffee?" He asks, and Mingyu nods, pulling out his wallet.

"I'm paying for everyone," He says, a bit shyly, and Junhui smirks at him.

"Wow, big spender," He teases. Seokmin rolls his eyes and ignores the way Wonwoo subtly slides his hand up the back of Mingyu's jacket.

Minghao leans forward and places his order in very fast Chinese. Junhui gives him a look before replying, and Minghao still looks a bit surprised that he's found someone else who can speak his mother tongue. He slinks off to join Soonyoung, looking like he's been chastised.

"And what about you, handsome?" Junhui asks, addressing Wonwoo. Wonwoo is cool as always, a harsh contrast to the way Mingyu is blushing furiously.

"I want a soy latte," Wonwoo says. He tries to peer over the cashier at whoever was working behind the coffee machines, but it doesn't look like there's anyone there. "What brand of soy milk do you use?"

Junhui hums and leans back on his heels. "Jihoon, what brand of soy milk do we use?"

There's a crashing noise behind the machines, and suddenly someone is cursing, a variation of words that definitely should not be used in the workplace. Junhui doesn't look bothered at all, just waits until it's over before raising his brows at the person, waiting for an answer.

"Does it matter?" The person snaps. "It's soy milk. They're all the fucking same. It's not like there's a fucking difference."

Junhui turns back to Wonwoo, and with a sugary sweet smile, repeats. "It's soy milk, so most of them are the same. There shouldn't be a difference in brands, if that's what you're worried about."

"If you want fucking special soy milk go to a vegan cafe or something, my god. Be pretentious somewhere else, I don't have fucking time for this."

Junhui continues smiling. "If you want special soy milk you can try the vegan cafe down the street. We're pretty busy, and our barista doesn't have time to bother with brands of milk," He addresses the person behind the machine again, murmuring, "There's burn gel in the first aid kit. Run your hand under cold water first."

The person grumbles back at him, and Seokmin thinks he hears more cursing, before his voice fades as he slips into the backroom. Junhui sighs heavily.

"Sorry," He apologizes to an amused looking Wonwoo. "He just burned his whole hand on some steamed milk." He types something into the machine. "The brand we use is Silk soy milk."

"That's fine. Make it two," Wonwoo nudges Mingyu in the ribs, making the younger boy jump, who was still staring at the door to the backroom. "I know what he likes."

Junhui's smile falters just the slightest, but he catches it in seconds and nods. "Gotcha." He points the sharpie he was using to write the orders on their paper cups at Seokmin. "And you?"

"Uh, can I just get a black coffee? Really strong. And a toasted bagel with butter," Seokmin rubs at his eyes, and Junhui offers him a warm smile.

"Early classes?"

"Yeah."

Junhui hums in understanding, scribbling down his order. "Okay, it's gonna be sixteen forty one," He looks expectantly at Mingyu, who hands over his credit card with flushed cheeks. Seokmin hears the door to the back bang open, and the person who was making the coffee must come back because he can hear them grumbling to themselves. He's so distracted with straining to hear what they're saying, he doesn't realize Mingyu has taken back his card and he and Wonwoo were slowly heading towards the others by the chairs.

Seokmin whips around and gives them a pleading look. "Come on!"

Mingyu puts his finger on his nose. "I paid, so I don't have to get them."

"Why can't Wonwoo get them?" Seokmin cries, and Wonwoo shoves his hands into Mingyu's jacket pockets, hooking his chin over the younger's shoulder.

"Boyfriend benefits," He replies gleefully. Seokmin glares at them both, before begrudgingly dragging himself over to the pick up station.

From here, he can see the person behind the machines making coffee. He's surprised to find a small boy, probably a whole head shorter than him, with bleach blonde hair and a scowl on his face. He's got a metal pitcher underneath a wand that blasts steam, heating up milk, and when he catches Seokmin's eye he glares at him but says nothing. Seokmin's first thought is _ "how cute." _

"Can you put two sugars in the black coffee?" Seokmin asks cheerily. The boy whips around to give Seokmin an even dirtier look, and Seokmin spies his name tag- Jihoon.

"Jihoon," He tacks on, smiling.

Jihoon snorts but otherwise says nothing, reaching under the machines to pull out packs of sugar and dump them into Seokmin's cup. Seokmin taps his fingers rhythmically, humming along to the indie folk song playing quietly over the speakers. The boy gently places Soonyoung's coffee down first, followed by Minghao's. Seokmin glances around for a drink carrier, and spots them on top of the machines, just slightly out of his reach.

"Could I please have a carrier when you're done?" Seokmin asks. Jihoon's mouth sets into a hard line. He puts down the cup he was holding and reaches for the carriers. Seokmin almost wants to coo at how short he is. Even on his tiptoes, he could barely reach the top of the machine, let alone the carriers.

After watching him struggle for a few seconds, Seokmin leans forward onto the counter and stretches his arm to push the carriers closer to Jihoon. They're knocked halfway off the top of the machine, so that the other can easily grab them.

Jihoon's face is flushed with what looks like embarrassment, and he slams the carrier down in front of Seokmin, avoiding eye contact. Seokmin tries not to smile and waits for the other drinks to finish.

Just as Jihoon places the last one down (his black coffee), Seokmin reaches out and very gently touches Jihoon's hand. He can see the patchy, red burns along the skin, sticky with burn gel, and he frowns at it.

"Is your hand okay?" Seokmin asks. "Does it still hurt?"

Jihoon looks a bit shocked, probably wondering why a stranger just grabbed his hand, but a second later he snaps out of it and pulls his hand away from the other boy quickly.

"It's fine," He answers curtly. "It happens all the time."

Seokmin nods, setting his coffee into the carrier and tucking his bagel in between them all. "Okay. Be careful next time."

Jihoon huffs something that sounds like another curse, and Seokmin just flashes him a smile, heading back to his friends.

He sets the carrier down on the table between all the chairs. Soonyoung lurches forward to grab his coffee, and Seokmin takes the opportune moment to slip into his armchair before he can sit back down, so when he does he lands in Seokmin's lap. The older boy doesn't seem bothered about in the slightest, instead handing Seokmin his bagel and settling into a comfortable position.

Wonwoo looks too cheerful squished into the love seat with Mingyu, blowing on his coffee. Beside him, Mingyu keeps stealing glances back towards the register, cheeks tinted a soft pink.

"He's cute," Seokmin finally pipes up, once everyone had taken their first sips and collectively let out the sighs they'd been holding in since they'd woken up. "You should ask Minghao some pick up lines in Chinese."

Minghao snorts into his coffee. Mingyu glares at him.

"He'd probably tell him something dirty and say it's a pick up line so Mingyu gets humiliated," Soonyoung says. The coffee he was drinking was so hot steam was rising from it in clouds. Seokmin wasn't sure how the elder hadn't burned off his tongue yet.

"Yeah, I would," Minghao admits, grinning. Mingyu throws a napkin at him, and misses completely.

"So," Wonwoo says suddenly. "What was that with the barista, Seokmin?"

Seokmin looks up from where he had been, admittedly, eyeing the machines Jihoon was hidden behind. "What?"

Wonwoo winks at him. "I saw you flirting with him. Did you try to hold his hand?"

Soonyoung side eyes Seokmin around his jacket hood. "Dude."

Seokmin shrugs, suddenly very interested in his coffee. "I just asked him if the burn hurt."

"He's got such a nice butt," Mingyu suddenly whines, and everyone gives him a weird look. He's not even listening to them, still staring at Junhui behind the register with a punch-drunk look.

Wonwoo pats Mingyu on the back. "Subtle, Mingyu."

They turn their teasing back onto the other boy, and Seokmin tries to sneakily glance back at Jihoon. He passes behind Junhui, still looking as grumpy as ever, and Seokmin feels his heart jump in his throat in an entirely good way.

 

Seokmin spends most of his eight am class drawing hearts in the margins of his music theory notes, like some stupid school girl, and thinking about Jihoon standing on his tiptoes to reach the top of the machine for him. Beside him, Seungcheol gives him an amused look, which he completely misses until the class is dismissed and he doesn’t even realize until the older boy shakes him violently by the shoulder.

“Someone in love?” Seungcheol asks as they walk to the next building. Seungcheol was one of Seokmin’s only friends that he had more than two classes with, which meant it was almost impossible to keep anything from the older boy for longer than two hours.

Seokmin elbows him in the ribs. “Shut up, no. I just met someone.”

Seungcheol raises his eyebrow suggestively. “Where?”

“Mingyu brought us to this new coffee shop near campus. The barista there was really cute.”

“Wait, Junhui?” Seungcheol says, looking surprised. “Isn’t Mingyu going after him?”

Seokmin frowns. “No, it’s the other one. And how do you know Mingyu likes him?”

Seungcheol laughs. “Wonwoo tells me everything. And I mean everything.”

“Gross. That’s enough, I get it.”

“Are you guys coming to that party tomorrow night?” Seungcheol asks, a shiver running through him when they step through the front doors of the next building and are blasted with hot air from the vents.

“Which one?” Seokmin doesn’t really drink. He usually just goes to parties to be Minghao’s wingman, and supervise everyone else's drinking so they don’t have a repeat of freshman year when Wonwoo had seven shots in a row and then broke a window with a soccer ball.

Seungcheol twists his lips, looking like he was trying not to smile. “Jeonghan’s.”

Seokmin eyes him suspiciously. “I thought you didn’t like him anymore.”

“Okay, listen,” Seungcheol rushes out, as though he desperately needed Seokmin’s approval for this crush. “I tried really hard to stop because I heard he was hooking up with his roommate, but then I was in the library and he asked if he could sit at my table and we started talking and-”

“You started talking?” Seokmin repeats, grinning. “Finally, after like, eight months, you’ve made contact?”

Seungcheol shoves him with his shoulder. “Shut up, it hasn’t been eight months. And yes, we talked. And he personally invited me to the party so,” He twists his fingers together nervously. “I need you guys to come. As buffers, in case stuff gets awkward. So I can have an excuse to leave.” 

Seokmin waves his hand at him. “I’m sure Mingyu’s already planning on crashing so don’t worry about that. And if you want an excuse, just give Minghao some straight vodka and I promise you Jeonghan will be begging us to leave.”

Seungcheol laughs too loudly for so early in the morning, and a few people passing glare at him.

 

Seokmin meets up again with the others around noon, when they all have a lull in their classes and have time for lunch. Wonwoo is the only one who doesn’t have any classes after eleven on Friday’s, and he cheerily stretches out in his chair closest to the heater at their table in the cafeteria while Soonyoung grumbles to himself about sore calves and torn leggings. Seokmin lets Soonyoung take off his sneakers and put his feet in the younger’s lap, so that Seokmin could rub his feet through his fuzzy socks. Seokmin always has a soft spot for him if he complains a little bit, because he knows dance majors have it tough. Minghao looks sleepier than he had in the morning, eyes half closed as he robotically eats the french fries Mingyu has in front of him.

“Were you guys planning on going to Jeonghan’s party tomorrow?” Seokmin asks, once they’ve all settled down and it seemed like they were all done complaining about their respective mornings.

Mingyu immediately nods. “Of course,” He says somberly. “I’m offended you’d think I would miss the opportunity to get fucked up for free.”

Wonwoo gives him a sideways glance. “You always get fucked up for free. I pay for your drinks.”

Mingyu nods again. “Exactly. And I buy your coffee. We’re even.”

“We are definitely not even, but I’m gonna let it slide.”

“How did you hear about it?” Mingyu asks, turning his attention to Seokmin.

“Who else? Seungcheol,” Seokmin replies. “He told me he needs us there to be his buffer in case things don’t work out with Jeonghan.”

Minghao snorts, and says through a mouthful of fries, “Is Seungcheol blind? I saw them in the library the other day. Jeonghan looked like he wanted to fuck Seungcheol right there in front of everyone.”

“Good news for Seungcheol, then,” Wonwoo comments. “I can’t believe he actually talked to him, finally.”

“Jeonghan made the first move, apparently,” Seokmin continues. “He asked to sit and study with Seung-”

He’s cut off as Soonyoung suddenly groans in appreciation, flexing his foot in Seokmin’s hands. “Fuck,” He mumbles, head lolling to the side and resting on Mingyu’s shoulder.

“Please let us know if you’re about to come, so we can leave,” Minghao says in a dull voice. Soonyoung ignores him and just sighs happily.

“So, it’s a unanimous yes, right?” Seokmin clarifies, and everyone (save for Soonyoung, who looked like he was drooling a bit on Mingyu’s shoulder) nods or hums in agreement. 

Mingyu perks up, eyes widening as he suddenly thinks of something. “Should I invite Junhui?”

Minghao groans, and the same time Wonwoo grins. “Do it.”

Mingyu gets an excited glint in his eyes, and Soonyoung mutters beside him, “Does he even know your name?”

Mingyu pulls his shoulder away abruptly so Soonyoung almost topples over. The elder glares at him as Mingyu leans away and against Wonwoo’s chest instead.

“For your information, he asked me it this morning,” Mingyu says defensively.

“He asked all of our names,” Minghao remarks. “That’s part of his job.”

Seokmin feels the table shake slightly when Mingyu kicks Minghao in the shins. The other boy chokes on a french fry as Mingyu mumbles, “Shut up.”

 

Seokmin goes back to the coffee shop Saturday morning with Mingyu. He tells them it’s in support, but Wonwoo gives him a look that says he knows the real reason he’s going. Seokmin just shrugs and is out the door before any of them can question him further.

This time it’s Jihoon behind the register, and he scowls when he spots Seokmin. Mingyu stands on his tiptoes trying to see Junhui behind the coffee machines. Seokmin smiles warmly at Jihoon.

“Hi, Jihoon,” He says, and Jihoon just snorts, looking down at the register. After another second, he mumbles back, “Hi.”

Mingyu rocks on the balls of his feet, giving Jihoon a sheepish look. “Is Junhui here?”

Jihoon doesn't even get a chance to answer before Junhui is poking his head out from behind the machines, grinning.

“Hey, you,” The elder says to Mingyu. “Miss me that much?”

Mingyu’s face turns pink, and Seokmin hears Jihoon make a gagging noise under his breath.

“Um, I was actually- I came to ask you- I- uh- we’re going-” Mingyu stutters over his words nervously, trying to hold eye contact with the elder boy, but gives up and instead turns to Seokmin with a pleading look.

“We wanted to invite you to a party tonight,” Seokmin explains. He shifts his gaze to Jihoon, who's still scowling. “You should come too, Jihoon.”

“I don't need your pity invite,” Jihoon spits, but Junhui just laughs, throwing an arm around the smaller boys shoulder and pulling him close.

“We’ll be there!” Junhui says cheerily. He pulls the sharpie out of Jihoon’s hand and uncaps it with his teeth, handing it to Mingyu. “Give me your number so you can text me the address.”

Mingyu looks around uncertainly for a piece of paper, but Junhui just holds his hand out for the younger to take, palm up. Mingyu doesn’t hesitate to take the older boys hand in his own, grinning from ear to ear as he scribbles his number on his tan skin.

Seokmin gives Jihoon a sideways glance. “Do you want my number, too, Jihoon?”

Jihoon’s head snaps up to look at him, face flushing a deep pink. “No! Why would I need your number?” His eyes dart to the other boys, but neither is paying attention, Mingyu too preoccupied with tracing the numbers onto Junhui’s palm while the elde watches him with a fond look.

Seokmin smiles at him. “You never know. Maybe there’s an emergency?”

Jihoon purses his lips and looks down. He looks like he’s trying to decide if he really does want it, before Junhui butts in with, “I’ll text Mingyu his number to give to you,” winking at Seokmin.

Jihoon glares at him, sputtering, but Mingyu is handing the sharpie back to Junhui and pulling on his coat as a signal to leave.

“We’ll see you tonight, than,” Seokmin says, still looking at Jihoon. Junhui waves goodbye to a giddy looking Mingyu, and takes Jihoon hand in his to force a limp wave at Seokmin as well. Jihoon looks grumpy and snaps at the other boy, but Seokmin can still see the pink blush tinting his cheeks.

 

They luckily don’t have to all cram into Mingyu’s car that night, because Seungcheol has his own car and offers to take Soonyoung and one other person. Minghao volunteers first, which leaves Seokmin stuck in Mingyu’s car with the trash couple themselves, having to sit through Wonwoo cooing at Mingyu and fixing his hair every few seconds, trying to calm his nerves. It wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t discussing different ways they could fuck Junhui every five minutes.

When they finally reach Jeonghan’s apartment, it’s clear the party is in full swing, the lights and music pouring from his tenth floor balcony an obvious sign. Seokmin would tell him to lower the music for fear of Jeonghan’s neighbors reporting them, but he knows the elder’s neighbors were probably at the party themselves and too drunk to care.

As he’s getting out of the car, his phone vibrates in his jacket pocket. When he opens it, he has a text from an unknown number.

 

**_unknown:_ ** _ where the fuck are u _

 

Seokmin stares down at it, confused. Mingyu glances at it from over his shoulder and laughs, startling Seokmin.

“It’s Jihoon,” He says matter of factly. “Junhui asked me to give him your number.”

Seokmin looks down at the text and then back up at Mingyu. He tries not to smile but he really can’t help it. Mingyu rolls his eyes and walks away as Seungcheol’s car pulls up on the curb beside them.

 

**_seokmin:_ ** _ I’m outside! :-) I’ll be there in a second. _

 

Seokmin watches the little grey bubbles move, waiting for Jihoon’s reply. They abruptly stop, though, and Seokmin pouts at his phone screen, disappointed. He’s about to text something again when suddenly he hears his name being shouted above him.

All of them look up. Jihoon stands on the tenth floor balcony, practically hanging over the edge, waving a red cup in his hand excitedly.

“Seokmin!” He shouts again, and Seokmin wants to laugh at the stupefied expressions on his friends faces.

Junhui appears beside Jihoon on the balcony, curling a hand around his bicep and pulling him away from the railing so he doesn’t fall. He smiles down at them, waving casually, avoiding the drink Jihoon was sloshing around from waving.

“Why are you down there?” Jihoon calls loudly. “Why aren’t you up here?”

Seokmin raises an eyebrow. He holds his hands up to his mouth to yell back, “Because I just got here!”

“Hurry up, you asshole!” Jihoon replies, and then he’s turning unsteadily on his feet and going back into the party.

Junhui rests his chin in his hand and leans a bit over the balcony railing. From down here, the light of the party glows around him like a halo, and he looks like an angel.

“Well?” He calls, and he watches Mingyu and Wonwoo standing there dumbly on the sidewalk. “Are you gonna listen to him or not?”

“Your pussy is way too dry to be riding our dicks like this!” Minghao shouts back. Soonyoung cackles, and Wonwoo hip checks Minghao so hard he bangs into Seungcheol’s car door. 

Junhui shouts something back in Chinese, and Minghao snorts despite the sour look on his face and the obvious way he’s rubbing his side from the impact with the car. Seungcheol is already heading into the building, and they all follow suit, Wonwoo shouting at Junhui that they’ll see him up there.

Inside, the apartment is packed, familiar and unfamiliar faces combined into a sea of people. Seokmin can feel the raw energy rolling off his friends in waves, the excitement and nerves (and in Minghao’s case, desire to get absolutely shit faced) palpable now that they were in full party mode.

“Don’t drink too much,” Seokmin begins to say after Seungcheol and Mingyu had both given him their car keys to pocket. Soonyoung is already disappearing into the crowd and Wonwoo’s spotted Junhui by the kitchen, pulling Mingyu along with him to greet the elder.

A few people are pushed aside as someone shoves their way through the crowd. It parts to allow Jeonghan to step out, looking way too composed for someone who just fought their way through a group of sweaty drunk people.

“You came,” He breathes, cheeks tinted pink from alcohol and smiling dreamily at Seungcheol. His long hair is pulled up and a few strands stick to his face, but he somehow still looks pretty. Seungcheol turns a similar color, but for different reasons, ducking his head in embarrassment.

“I’m Minghao,” Minghao says, thrusting his hand out for Jeonghan to shake. Jeonghan laughs and takes it, smiling at him as well.

“Nice to meet you. I think we’ve met before. You were in my Calculus class last semester for, like, three days.”

Minghao nods. “Yup, that was me. Fuck calculus,” He shrugs off his jacket and looks around the room. “Where’s the booze?”

Another boy steps out of the crowd to sling an arm around Jeonghan’s waist. He’s just as pretty as the other, a little bit taller with soft eyes and nice smile.

“It’s in the kitchen, by the fridge,” He says, pointing with his beer bottle in the general direction. Minghao takes off without another word, and Seokmin vaguely thinks he hears someone shout, “Hao, I’m gonna kick your ass!” 

Seungcheol is frowning at the boy’s arm around Jeonghan’s waist, and Seokmin clears his throat a little awkwardly. “I’m Seokmin.”

“Jisoo,” The boy says, smiling at him. He turns his gaze to Seungcheol, and Seokmin doesn’t miss the way Jisoo’s hand tightens just the slightest around Jeonghan. “So, you must be the infamous Seungcheol I’ve heard so much about?”

Seungcheol looks a bit taken aback. “Um.. I guess so?”

Jisoo looks him up and down very obviously. “He’s just as handsome as you said,” He comments, winking at Jeonghan, and the other boy nods excitedly.

“Isn’t he?” Jeonghan breathes out, looking at Seungcheol with that same dreamy look as before. “C’mon, Cheol, I’ll show you the place.”

Jisoo let’s Jeonghan slip out of his hold to take Seungcheol’s hand and pull him away. Seokmin is left alone with Jisoo, feeling a bit out of place. But then the other boy slaps him on the back and starts guiding him through the crowd as well.

“Do you want a beer?” Jisoo asks. Seokmin isn’t quite sure where he’s being led, but he assumes Jisoo's intentions are harmless.

“No, thanks. I don’t drink.”

“Good for you. They’re empty carbs.”

Seokmin snorts, and accepts the slightly warm soda can Jisoo pushes into his hand instead out of sheer politeness. He’s still being led somewhere, and he doesn’t know where until he finds himself planted outside a closed bathroom door, two boys he doesn’t recognize knocking on the door and calling to the person inside.

“This is Seokmin,” Jisoo announces, and the two boys turn, suddenly looking relieved.

“Oh, thank god,” One of them, a blond boy who's too handsome for his own good, says. “He’s locked himself in the bathroom because his ex is here and Seungkwan has to fucking pee.”

The other one (Seokmin assumes it’s Seungkwan) has a pained expression on his face, giving big puppy dog eyes to Jisoo. “How do you guys only have one bathroom in this huge apartment?”

Jisoo glares at him. “If you try to piss off the balcony again I swear to god I’ll throw you off it.”

Seungkwan whines and turns to Seokmin desperately. “Please convince him to come out.”   
Seokmin looks between the three of them, still just as confused as he was before. “I’m sorry, I have no idea what’s going on.”

The blond boy looks slightly annoyed, huffing. “Jihoon’s locked himself in the bathroom and no one can get him out.”

Seokmin frowns. “Why?” 

“I literally just told you. His ex is here.”

They all look at him as though waiting for his next move. Seokmin isn't sure what he's supposed to do, so he steps forward and raps his knuckles on the door.

“Fuck off, Hansol!” A familiar voice snaps, and the blond boy looks offended.

“Uh, it's Seokmin, actually,” Seokmin starts. “I heard you locked yourself in-”

He's cut off as the door is suddenly thrown open  and Jihoon drags him in by his wrist. He slams the door closed again once the other’s in, and turns the lock. On the other side, someone starts banging on the door again, shouting that Jihoon was dead when he comes out.

Seokmin looks down at Jihoon, who looks nervous, chewing on his lip and staring with a blank look at the door. He's still holding Seokmin’s wrist, fingers tight around it. Seokmin gently pries them off, but keeps the other’s hand loosely in his own.

“Are you okay?” Seokmin asks.

Jihoon blinks a few times, as though he forgot he just pulled Seokmin in with him, and wiggles his hand out of Seokmin’s. “Yeah. I’m fine. I just-” He takes a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut. “This guy I don't wanna see is here.”

“Your ex?”

Jihoon gives the door a dirty look. “I hate Hansol.”

Seokmin tries to smile at him casually. “How long were you with him?”

Jihoon pulls his bottom lip between his teeth again, looking wary. “Three years.”

“Wow. When did you break up?”

“Like a month ago.”

Seokmin nods sympathetically. “This one time, my girlfriend dumped me after ten months for some kid she met at  a music festival. I cried for two weeks straight.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” 

“No, but then I adopted, like, seven stray cats at once, and Mingyu’s allergic but when he tried to kick them out one of them attacked him and clawed his ass to shreds.”

Jihoon snorts. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Seokmin nods. “He still has scars from it. I ended up giving the cats away, but he still brings it up to this day.”

There's chattering outside, and what sounds like the other boy Seungkwan whining to someone. Seokmin glances at the door and then back at Jihoon.

“We should get out of the bathroom. Your friend Seungkwan is about to pee his pants.”

“It wouldn't be the first time. He once peed off Jisoo’s balcony.”

“I heard, but I surprisingly do not want to imagine how that must have looked.”

Jihoon laughs again, and Seokmin’s heart does a little flip flop knowing he's making the other boy feel better. Before he can say anything else, the lock clicks, and the door swings open.

Jisoo stands there with a key, looking triumphant. Behind him, Seungkwan shoves his way through, pushing past all of them to get to the toilet.

“That's our cue to leave,” Seokmin announces. He ushers Jihoon forward with a hand on his lower back, and, the elder just follows.

Seungkwan slams the bathroom door behind them, and Jisoo wanders off shouting for Hansol that he found the key, leaving Seokmin and Jihoon alone in the hallway. The music from the party is slightly muffled here, away from the rest of the crowd. Jihoon peers around the corner, searching the throng of party goers for his ex. Seokmin moves forward and looks along with them, just barely resting his chin on the other boy’s head.

“What does he look like?” Seokmin whispers, although there’s no need to be quiet seeing as he can barely hear himself talk over the music.

Jihoon mumbles something unintelligible, cheeks flushed pink. “I don’t see him, though,” He tacks on, eyes scanning the crowds.

“Do you think it’s safe?” Seokmin asks, maybe a little too close to Jihoon’s ear, because the older boy jolts, pink facing turning even pinker.

“Yeah. Just, um,” He twists his fingers together for a second, before latching them onto the bottom of Seokmin’s shirt. “Stay close to me.”

Seokmin nods, smiling at him in a way that he hopes is reassuring and not creepy. Jihoon stays close to his side as Seokmin turns the corner, heading towards the kitchen with the assumption the other boy needs another drink.

“You sobered up pretty fast,” Seokmin teases as they push past several people doing a keg stand. Jihoon’s eyes flicker nervously around the room. “What was all that on the balcony?”

Jihoon whips around to look at him, sputtering. “You were just- I wasn’t- I was trying-”

Seokmin laughs a little too loudly, patting Jihoon on the shoulder. “It’s okay. It was cute.”

“Don’t call him cute,” Junhui says as he passes by, ruffling Jihoon’s hair. “He hates it.”   
“Can you fuck off, maybe!” Jihoon shouts after him, nose scrunching up in the most adorable way as he glares at Junhui’s retreating back.

Seokmin smiles without meaning too, not even deterred when Jihoon spots his grin and growls, “Shut up.”

They reach the kitchen and Seokmin is pleased to see it’s one of the emptiest rooms of the apartment, just a passageway for people to stop through and grab drinks and maybe snoop in the fridge before Jisoo comes in shooing them away with a wooden spoon like a nagging mother. Jihoon heads straight for the cooler of ice, picking up a beer can and pressing it against his forehead. He pulls another one out, handing it to Seokmin without looking, and Seokmin takes it to be polite because he doesn’t want Jihoon to feel uncomfortable being the only one drinking. He was probably too drunk to notice if Seokmin didn’t even bother opening it, anyway.

“Are you okay?” Seokmin asks after a few minutes of silence. On the other side of the wall, he can hear the song change to something with a deeper, slower beat, the bass vibrating under his feet. He thinks he hears something break, and Minghao’s familiar shout over the music, indistinct and warped.

Jihoon takes another sip of beer. He doesn’t reply at first, hiccuping as he swallows, before he replies in a slightly shaky voice, “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

Seokmin shrugs. He tries to hold eye contact with the other, but Jihoon avoids his gaze when he sees him staring, wiping his thumb nervously over the condensation on the side of the beer can.

No one is left in the kitchen now, just them. It feels like they’re cut off from the rest of the party, the slightly muffled music only further giving Seokmin the perception they’re in their own separate world. When Jihoon finally looks up and meets his gaze, Seokmin’s breath catches in his throat. His vision tunnels for a split second, pinpointing in on Jihoon looking back at him with half lidded eyes, cheeks flushed and lips wet. 

The songs bass drops even more as it comes to an end, and the mood in the room shifts significantly. Seokmin doesn’t know how it happens, but suddenly he’s moved forward and is crowding into Jihoon’s personal space. Not touching him, hands hovering on either side, gripping the counter with white knuckles, faces inches apart.

The illusion is shattered into a million tiny pieces before either of them can say or do anything when someone comes crashing into the kitchen, clearly drunk, laughing loudly at someone in the other room. The song changes to an upbeat, pop song, and Jihoon is clearing his throat, pulling away from Seokmin and running a hand through his hair, face still flushed. Seokmin takes a step back as well.

“Oh, sorry,” The boy who’d stumbled in says. He gives them a goofy smile, holding up his empty red cup in greeting. “Did I interrupt something?”

“Yes,” Jihoon hisses the same time Seokmin says, “No, it’s alright.” 

The boy gives Jihoon a surprised look. “I just wanted to get some punch.”

“Maybe you should stop,” Another boy says as he walks through the doorway. He’s dressed in all black, bleach fried hair swept back and cheeks tinged just the slightest bit pink in the indication he was only a little tipsy, remarkably less than his friend. “You’ve probably drank enough to-”

His joke is cut off when he spots Seokmin and Jihoon. It dies in his throat, and his face goes blank. Seokmin frowns, looking at Jihoon and expecting him to look just as confused, only to find the other boy frozen in place, like a deer caught in headlights, looking terrified.

Right. Ex-boyfriend.

Seokmin clears his throat, stepping to the side and pulling Jihoon with him so the drunk boy has access to the bowl of punch on the counter. “Here you go. Sorry about that.”

The drunk boy grins dumbly at him, clearly too wasted to notice the obvious tension in the room that was so thick Seokmin felt uncomfortable. “Thanks, bro.”   
There’s silence except for the sound of the drink sloshing as he fills his cup. The other boy and Jihoon are still staring at each other, and Seokmin shifts from one foot to the other, wondering if he should leave. As the thought crosses his mind, he feels Jihoon’s hand curl around the hem of the back of his shirt again, tight and small. He takes that as an invitation to stay.

“Hey, Jihoon,” The boy finally says, in a much calmer voice than his expression would give away. “It’s been awhile.”

Jihoon nods.

Drunk boy looks between Jihoon and the other boy a few times, brows furrowed. “Oh, shit, is this Jihoon? What’s up, man?” He thrusts his free hand into Jihoon’s own, shaking it wildly. “It’s been forever. I’m Hoseok. We met, like, two years ago when you guys first started dating, do you remember? I think we were at a bar in-”   
“We’re not together anymore,” Jihoon cuts him off firmly, but it’s clear he’s trembling slightly.

Hoseok looks affronted, turning back to the other boy. “What? Since when? Why didn’t you tell me?”

The other boy presses his lips together in a tight line. “It’s not a big deal, we just-”

“It’s not a big deal?” Jihoon repeats, voice going up an octave and considerably louder than before. He glares at the boy, voice shaking as he continues. “It’s not a big fucking deal? Three years wasn’t a big deal to you?”

The boy scratches his head, tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek. “Don’t do this in front of them, Jihoon.”

Jihoon’s hand curls even more on Seokmin’s shirt, and he scowls at the boy. “Fuck you.”

The boy’s jaw tightens, and he glares back at Jihoon, anger now evident in his eyes. “No, fuck you. You’re so fucking overdramatic, just chill out for a second and think about what you’re gonna say before you open your stupid mouth.”

“Whoa, hey now,” Seokmin starts, but he’s cut off when Jihoon suddenly hurls his half empty beer can at the other boy’s head. It hits him in the shoulder, and his hands curl into fists at his side as he glares at Jihoon before looking around for something to throw back. The only thing next to him is the kitchen table stool, and he reaches for it, the same time Hoseok lunges for him, yelling “Yoongi, knock it off!”   
A few party-goers are already gathering in the doorway curiously, a second long beat between song changes enough time for them to hear the shouting coming from the kitchen. Seokmin grabs onto Jihoon’s wrist to pull him back when he lurches forward towards Yoongi.

“Blow me,” Yoongi growls.

“I have, and it was disappointing!” Jihoon shouts back, trying to tug away from Seokmin’s hold. Yoongi is much bigger than Jihoon, skinny but with at least a foot of height on the other, and the way he seems to be struggling significantly less with getting Hoseok out of his way has Seokmin’s heart dropping into his stomach.

“Jihoon, let’s go,” He says, a little too quietly. At this point, most of the people at the party were crowding in the doorways, craning their necks to get a look at what was happening. It must not have been quiet enough, though, because Yoongi turns his glare on Seokmin instead.

“Yeah, just go Jihoon,” He snarls through his teeth. “Go be someone else’s bitch, you annoying fucking-”

He’s cut off with a loud thwacking sound, his head suddenly pitching forward as he stumbles against Hoseok.

Behind him, Jeonghan stands face twisted into a grimace, hand raised post slap. Yoongi glares at him, and Jeonghan looks un-intimidated, glaring back.

“Next time, it'll be in the face,” Jeonghan snaps. “Now get the fuck out of my apartment.”

Yoongi clenches his jaw, turning to throw a dirty look at Jihoon. He grumbles something under his breath, but this time let’s Hoseok tug him away and through the now dispersing crowd, who seem slightly disappointed there won't be a fight.

Jeonghan snaps at someone to get him paper towels, using the table stools as faux traffic cones to surround the spilled beer from the can Jihoon had thrown. Seungcheol pokes his head in the kitchen, and Jisoo appears to pass towels to Jeonghan.

When Seokmin turns back to Jihoon, the other boy is glaring at the floor, hands clenched into fists. It’s clear he looks like he’s trying to fight back tears, face flushing an angry red. Seokmin let’s go of his wrist, opting instead to gingerly place on hand on his back.

“Are you okay?” He asks in a low voice, so no one else will hear them. A glance at the oven clock says it’s only around eleven, and from the other room someone shouts something about shots. The party was just reaching its prime, and would probably drag on for another couple hours. “Do you want to go home?”

Jihoon clenches his jaw and nods tightly, avoiding eye contact. He grabs another beer out of the cooler as they leave the kitchen. Seokmin doesn’t comment on it, even when the elder cracks it open and chugs half of it in one go.

He leaves Jihoon pulling on his coat to search for someone to let them know he’s leaving. He finds Mingyu with a lapful of Junhui, the older boy cooing into Mingyu’s ear, his hand disappearing underneath the younger’s shirt. Wonwoo is nowhere in sight. He finds Minghao hooking up with a girl in the hallway by the bathroom, and someone says is Seungcheol somewhere on the balcony with Jisoo. Finally, he locates Soonyoung in the living room, on the couch. He’s sitting with a boy Seokmin doesn’t recognize, who’s got thick thighs that are thrown casually over Soonyoung’s lap, and a sweet smile when Seokmin interrupts their chatting. 

“Hey,” Seokmin greets, nodding at the boy. “Uh, I’m gonna take Jihoon home. I don’t know if I’ll be back.”

“Have fun,” Soonyoung says, grinning from ear to ear and giving Seokmin a knowing look. Seokmin rolls his eyes, shoving his hands in his pockets. The car keys jingle, and remind him.

“You have the money for a cab, right? For all of you?” He asks. Soonyoung frowns for a second as he tries to remember. The boy beside him pats Soonyoung on the head.

“I can spot him if he can’t find it,” He says to Seokmin, smiling cheerily. He doesn’t look as drunk as Soonyoung, and Seokmin thanks him, hurrying back to the front door.

Jihoon is no longer there, and when Seokmin takes the elevator down to the lobby, he finds the older boy just outside the front doors of the building, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth as he stares blankly at the empty street. He’s visibly shivering, his flimsy coat doing nothing to cover him. Seokmin comes up behind him and starts to wrap his scarf around his neck, and Jihoon almost jumps a foot in the air.

“Jesus, you scared me,” He says, and his words are slurred again like they were when he’d been shouting from the balcony earlier. Seokmin can smell the alcohol on his breath now that they’re not in the stuffy, crowded apartment. The smoke curls out of his mouth as he exhales, not even bothering taking his hands out of his pocket to hold the cigarette.

Seokmin just smiles at him, focusing on wrapping the scarf around the elder’s neck. Jihoon lets him, eyelids half closed, but Seokmin can tell by the way he stands so tensely that he’s not sure how to react.

When he’s finished, he stands back, holding a hand out for Jihoon to take. “Where to?” He asks.

Jihoon stares at his hand with a furrowed brow, and instead ignores it, turning on his heel.

“This way,” He calls. Seokmin just shrugs to himself and follows. 

Seokmin keeps a careful eye on the way Jihoon wobbles as he walks, and keeps him standing with a firm hand to his lower back. He doesn’t think Jihoon even notices, so other than that, he keeps space between them. He doesn’t want to overwhelm Jihoon.

It’s quiet out, the only sound the occasional car racing by on the street. They’re somewhere off campus, and although Seokmin doesn’t know the area well, he can recognize a few buildings from parties he’d gone to before. It’s bitterly cold, and his ears are starting to go numb, but it’s nice just walking with someone.

“So,” Seokmin begins, solely to break the silence. “How do you know Jeonghan?”

Jihoon sniffs, tossing his cigarette bud on the sidewalk and stomping it out with his boot. “I was a TA in his Song Composition class when he was a freshman.”

“Wait, how old are you?” Seokmin asks, surprised. Teaching assistants were usually seniors, and (very rarely) juniors.

“Old enough,” Jihoon says, letting out a harsh laugh. “Twenty three. I’m a grad student.”

Seokmin nods. “Ah, makes sense. You don’t look your age.”

Jihoon shoves him in a surprisingly playful way. “Shut up. I’m your elder.”

Seokmin shoves him back, which, in retrospect, was probably a dumb idea considering how drunk the other boy was. Jihoon sways unsteadily on his feet, and Seokmin is quick to wrap an arm around his waist so he doesn’t fall.

“Sorry,” Seokmin murmurs. Their faces are a few inches apart, and Jihoon looks dazed, staring at Seokmin with what looks like surprise.

“Uh,” He clears his throat, straightening up. “It’s fine.”

Jihoon makes no attempts to push Seokmin away, so the younger lets his arm drape loosely around Jihoon’s waist as they continue walking. He doesn’t want to push his luck, but he’s dying to bombard the other with questions about himself. He can’t stop himself when he blurts out, “So why did you and Yoongi break up?”

Jihoon comes to a dead halt, and Seokmin almost trips over his own two feet, getting dragged to a stop as well. Jihoon carefully pulls himself out of Seokmin’s grip, setting space between them again. He doesn’t answer the question, mouth pressed into a hard line. Seokmin feels something twist in his stomach, and he feels bad for asking.

They don’t talk the rest of the walk, Seokmin trailing a little bit behind Jihoon to give him space. In his head, he’s arguing with himself over how stupid he was to ask that question, versus the side that says it was perfectly rational to ask when he was just involved in a fight where Jihoon almost got a chair thrown at his head.

He’s so wrapped up in his own thoughts he doesn’t even realize they’ve reached Jihoon’s house. It’s one of those nice townhouses their university rents out to students who want to live off campus but were too lazy to find their own apartment like Jeonghan had done. Seokmin looks at Jihoon, preparing to say goodbye, but Jihoon is unlocking the front door before he can say anything. He leaves it open behind him, and after a second of hesitation, Seokmin takes that as an invitation to follow him inside.

The house is cozy looking, surprisingly well decorated for someone on a college student fund (but then again, Jihoon works at the coffee shop, so maybe he has other jobs that help pay for this lofty interior design.)

He follows the lights that have been flicked on to what he assumes is the master bedroom. Jihoon is collapsed on the king sized bed, trying lazily to kick off his boots without untying them or moving his body at all. Seokmin watches him fondly until he finally takes pity on him and helps him pull them off.

“Thanks,” Jihoon mumbles into his pillow, voice muffled. He wiggles his arms, and Seokmin helps him peel off his coat as well without a word.

“Will you be okay alone? Do you need water?” Seokmin asks. A quick glance around the room doesn’t give him much information on Jihoon as a person; it was too dark to make out the pictures on the dresser or the books on the shelves.

Jihoon’s eyes open suddenly, and he struggles to sit up on his knees, looking worried. “Don’t leave,” He whispers. His voice is small, and Seokmin is only a little surprised at how nervous he sounds. “Please don’t leave.”

Seokmin looks around the room for somewhere to sit. Jihoon pats the bed beside him, lips twitching in a way that looks like he’s trying not to frown.

Seokmin perches on the edge of the bed, shrugging off his jacket. Jihoon is still watching him with that nervous expression, and Seokmin reaches out without thinking, pressing a hand to his cheek.

“I’m not gonna leave,” He says softly. Jihoon’s cheek is warm and flushed, most likely from the mix of alcohol and bitter air outside, but Seokmin secretly thinks he sees the older boy blush a little darker when Seokmin touches him. “You should get some sleep.”

Jihoon nods. He peels off his socks and tosses them across the room, earning a laugh from Seokmin, and then kicks his way underneath his duvet.

Seokmin watches him settle in his sheets, looking far too small in such a large bed. He reaches out again, unconsciously, to thread fingers through Jihoon’s hair. It’s silky to the touch, and he smiles half to himself, scratching at Jihoon’s scalp. Jihoon doesn’t stop him, eyelids fluttering just the slightest at the touch. Seokmin thinks he hears him sigh happily.

He ends up falling asleep like that, awkwardly half sitting-half laying on the edge of Jihoon’s bed, fingers running through the elder’s hair, listening to his steady breathing, and vaguely wondering if his other friends made it home safe from the party.

 

Seokmin is awoken by what could only be described as a plate being smashed to pieces.

He's under the duvet, Jihoon wrapped around him like a second blanket. In his sleep, the elder looks much less intimidating, face smoothed into one of serene calm, hands curled into tiny fists in Seokmin's shirt.

Laughter sounds from the other room, followed by a familiar shrill shrieking that Seokmin can't put a face to. His automatic instinct is to make sure everyone is alright, so he carefully untangles himself from Jihoon's tight hold and slips out of his bedroom.

After wandering the halls, he finally finds himself in the kitchen. Two boys- the same ones from last night who had been shouting at Jihoon to get out of the bathroom, Hansol and Seungkwan- stood there staring down at the shattered plate on the linoleum floor.

"Jihoon's gonna kill us!" Seungkwan was snapping, scrambling to sweep the broken pieces with a broom and dustpan. Hansol was doubled over, holding the kitchen counter for support and laughing hysterically, like watching Seungkwan struggle with cleaning up his mess was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. It's only when he slips clumsily on his socks and ends up on his ass that Seokmin realizes he must still be drunk.

"Are you okay?" He asks, moving help Hansol to his feet.

Both boys startle at his voice, Hansol slipping onto his ass once more out of shock. Seungkwan grabs at his own chest dramatically, sighing.

"You scared the shit out of me," He gasped, going back to his task of sweeping. Seokmin apologizes, offering his hand to pull Hansol up. The other takes it thankfully, looking at Seokmin with a surprised face.

"What are you doing here?" He asks, and Seokmin scrunches his nose at the alcohol that his breath reeks of.

"You probably left the door open," Seungkwan grumbles, half to himself.

Seokmin frowns between them. "I brought Jihoon home last night."

Seungkwan looks at him, frowning as well. Hansol's eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. "You brought Jihoon home?" He repeats.

"Yeah."

Seungkwan looks Seokmin over, from his socks to his rumpled shirt and disheveled hair. He looks back at the hallway in the direction of Jihoon's room. "Did you stay the night?"

Seokmin can feel himself blushing, and he clears his throat. "Yeah, but, like... nothing happened. He just asked me to stay because he didn't wanna be alone."

Hansol lets out a noise somewhere between a snort and a choke, sliding across the floor as he suddenly makes a mad dash towards Jihoon's room.

Seungkwan is staring at Seokmin with an odd look, and although Seokmin doesn't think anything was wrong with him staying the night, he feels uncomfortably judged. He shifts from one foot to the other, rubbing at his arms. "Sorry, is that okay? Do you guys not like people staying over?"

In the other room, Seokmin hears Hansol’s shrill laughter, followed by Jihoon shouting curses at him. 

“I don’t have a problem with it. I’m just surprised.”

“Why?”

Seungkwan purses his lips. “Jihoon doesn’t have guests often.”

“Oh. Why?”

Seungkwan shrugs and turns back to the mess he was sweeping. Seokmin scratches his head, unsure if he should say anything else. Eventually, after he hears Jihoon shrieking at Hansol that he was going to strangle him, he decides he better get his coat and shoes and get out of everyone’s way.

Halfway to Jihoon’s room Hansol comes running down the hall, barreling past Seokmin and laughing maniacally as an angry, fluffy haired Jihoon chases him. The latter skids to a stop when he spots Seokmin, and for a moment, just stares at him, looking a bit surprised to find him here.

“Hey,” Seokmin greets, smiling. The tips of Jihoon’s ears are turning red, and he looks down at the floor, the slipper he was planning on beating Hansol with still held loosely in his fist. “Are you feeling better?”

Jihoon swallows visibly, clears his throat. “I don’t… remember last night.”

Seokmin raises a brow. “At all?”

Jihoon shakes his head, looking sheepish. Seokmin wants to pinch his cheeks, he looks so cute. “Did we… we didn’t…” He trails off, still avoiding looking the younger in the eye.

“Excuse me, I am a gentleman,” Seokmin declares in mock horror, putting a hand over his heart. “We haven’t even had our first date.” 

Jihoon’s cheeks flush, matching his ears, and he glares at Seokmin. “Shut up. What else am I supposed to think?”

“That you asked me to stay because you didn’t want to be alone and fell asleep in my arms.”

Jihoon sputters, clearly at a loss for words. Seokmin grins at him until the elder shoves past him, rubbing at his reddened cheeks and shouting, “Fuck off!”

 

Jihoon turns out to have his own car, and after much mumbling and awkward looks, he offers to give Seokmin a ride home. Seungkwan shoots Seokmin a look he can’t decipher, and when they both get in Jihoon’s car and pull out of the driveway, Seokmin spots both roommates peeking out from behind the living room curtains, grinning wildly.

“They’re funny,” Seokmin says after a few minutes of silence. Jihoon kept chewing on his bottom lip, and Seokmin found it endearing, even if it was a sign the elder was uncomfortable with the current situation (although he still couldn’t understand why).

“Who?”

“Your roommates.”

Jihoon snorts, turning on his blinker as he makes a right turn. “Yeah, they’re hysterical. They’re pains in my ass, is more like it.”

“How did you meet them?” Seokmin is starting to recognize the neighborhood they’re in, which could only mean Jihoon doesn’t live too far away from his own apartment.

They pull up to a stoplight, and Jihoon taps his fingers rhythmically on the steering wheel, staring out his window. “Seungkwan’s mom is friends with my mom. His family is pretty loaded, so when they find out he got into the same university as me, they offered to rent an off-campus house if I was his roommate.”

“And Hansol?”

Jihoon gives him a sideways glance, almost like he’s wondering why Seokmin was asking so many questions. “He and Seungkwan have been together since they were like, fourteen. They’re a package deal.” 

Seokmin smiles. “That’s nice. They’re cute together.”

They fall into silence again, other then Seokmin telling Jihoon where to turn and what street to take to get back to his place. Only when they’re making the turn into Seokmin’s apartment complex does he ask, “You don’t remember anything from last night?”

Jihoon shrugs. “Bits and pieces, I guess.”

“Do you remember what happened with Yoongi?”

Jihoon tenses slightly, fingers curling tightly around the steering wheel so his knuckles turn white. “Nothing happened.”

Seokmin frowns. Something very clearly  _ did  _ happen, but if Jihoon didn’t want to talk about it, he wasn’t going to press the matter.

“You made me hide in the bathroom with you because you didn’t wanna run into him.”

Jihoon whips around to stare at him, face flushing pink once again. “What? Really?”

“Yeah,” Seokmin grins at him. “It’s okay. It was cute.”

“Fuck you,” Jihoon growls, turning back grumpily and looking down at his lap. “This is your place, isn’t it? What are you waiting for?”

Seokmin can’t help but laugh, thoroughly enjoying the sour look on Jihoon’s face and how adorable he looked making it. “I’ll see you around, then? I’ll text you.”

“You don’t have my number,” Jihoon says, and his brow is still furrowed and mouth still turned down but he’s got a nervous look in his eyes like he’s genuinely concerned Seokmin doesn’t have his contact info.

“Yes, I do,” Seokmin smirks, halfway out of the car. “You got my number from Junhui and you were texting me last night, remember?” 

Jihoon stares at him, and Seokmin can practically see the embarrassment flooding his face as he remembers, ears turning red. “Get out,” He snaps.

Seokmin steps out, and he’s about to say his final goodbye and close the car door when suddenly the front door to his building opens and Junhui comes running out. He’s wearing a sweatshirt that look very familiar to Seokmin (he thinks it belongs to Mingyu), and throws himself on the hood of Jihoon’s car dramatically, panting from the effort of running.

“Drive me home,” He demands, grinning at Jihoon through the windshield. Jihoon gives him the dirtiest look he can muster and moves to lock the doors, but Seokmin is still holding the passenger side open, and Junhui just slides into his previously occupied seat. He closes the door, rolling down the window to wave at Seokmin as Jihoon begins peeling out of the parking spot.

“Tell Wonwoo not to walk around too much for the next 24 hours!” Junhui calls, grinning from ear to ear. Seokmin nods, only a little confused, and briefly he hears Jihoon groaning in disgust as they drive away.

When he makes it upstairs, he’s greeted by Minghao, who’s sitting at the kitchen table with a pretty girl Seokmin doesn’t recognize. The girl is wearing one of Minghao’s t-shirts, hanging off her bare thighs, and they’re both eating cereal lazily, only looking up when Seokmin finally enters the kitchen.

“Hey,” He says. He heads towards the fridge, looking for a bottle of water as Minghao hums in greeting.

“Hey,” Minghao mumbles around a mouthful of cereal. “This is Jieqiong.”

The girl, Jieqiong, waves her spoon cheerily at him. Seokmin smiles at her, wondering if this one would stick. Minghao never had a lot of luck with the girls he slept with when it came to making them his girlfriend afterwards.

Down the hall, he hears a groan, followed by Mingyu cooing at Wonwoo, and a few seconds later the younger boy comes skidding down the hall in his socks, headed for the freezer.

“Oh, hey,” Mingyu says. He opens the freezer and searches through it, pulling out a frozen bag of vegetables. “Were any of you planning on eating these?”

Seokmin downs the rest of his water bottle and checks the expiration date on the bag. “This has been in there for almost eight months.”

“So, that’s a no, right?” Mingyu asks. He’s about to leave the kitchen when Jieqiong suddenly points to the paper towels on the counter.

“Wet a paper towel and wrap the bag in it,” She says. “It’ll keep them colder longer and help him feel better faster.”

Mingyu glances at the paper towels, then at Jieqiong, then at Minghao. Minghao winks at him, and Mingyu just sighs, following Jieqiong’s instructions and wrapping the bag in a wet paper towel. He disappears back down the hall, leaving Seokmin just as confused as before.

“Anyone wanna fill me in?” He asks to the room in general.

“You wanna fill  _ me _ in?” Minghao counters back. “Where’d you disappear to last night?”

Seokmin tries to shrug him off, leaning against the counter. “I took Jihoon home.”

Jieqiong almost chokes on her cereal, coughing loudly. Minghao pats her firmly on the back until she takes a sip of water and can finally croak out, “Lee Jihoon?”

“I guess? Do you know him?”

Jieqiong shakes her head. “Not personally. But I was there when he broke up with his boyfriend.”

Minghao raises a brow. “Why were you there?”

“It was more like my friend lives next door to his boyfriend's apartment?” She gives Seokmin a sidelong glance. “It was almost three in the morning, and the whole building got woken up by their shouting. They were really going at it. I think they were throwing things at each other, too, because we heard stuff breaking, like plates and lamps. My friend’s boyfriend called the cops, but by the time they arrived Jihoon was gone.”

“Do you think they beat each other up?” Minghao wonders aloud. Seokmin winces. He didn’t want to think about that.

“Yeah, for sure,” Jieqiong shrugs. “We were all eavesdropping when the cops finally came, and his boyfriend had a bloody nose. My friend said they used to fight all the time.”

“What were they fighting about?” Seokmin can’t help himself from asking, too curious for his own good. 

“It wasn’t even clear, to be honest. They were just cursing each other out by the time they were yelling loud enough we all heard it, so I don’t know what started it.”

There’s silence. Seokmin’s stomach turns uncomfortably thinking about Jihoon and Yoongi the night before, and how full of rage both of them were at just the sight of each other.

“Oh, and Wonwoo got two dicks in his ass last night,” Minghao suddenly announces. Seokmin almost chokes on his own spit.

“Excuse me?!”

Jieqiong nods as Minghao continues, getting up to dump his empty bowl in the sink. “Yeah, Junhui and Mingyu put their dicks in him at the same time, and he woke us up with his screaming. Apparently Junhui has a really big dick and it hurt like a bitch.”

“I thought somebody got stabbed,” Jieqiong adds. Minghao snorts, elbowing her in the shoulder. 

“He kind of did,” He says cheekily, and they both laugh.

Seokmin stares at them, at a loss for words. This was definitely not how he saw his morning going. Suddenly, Junhui’s words of advice to tell Wonwoo not to walk for the rest of the day make more sense, and Seokmin groans in disgust. 

 

Monday rolls around with no word from Jihoon, and Seokmin buries his nervousness in aiding Wonwoo the best he can while his sore ass heals. The whole situation was hysterical in itself, but Mingyu banned any of them from laughing about it, spending the whole weekend fretting around the elder, bringing him ice packs and pillows and extra blankets. Wonwoo is too lazy to go to class Monday morning, and Mingyu announces he's going to stay with him, so Seungcheol comes around to pick Seokmin and Minghao up for classes.

When his car pulls around and they scramble into the backseat to escape the freezing air outside, they find Jeonghan sitting in the passenger seat, head leaning against the window as he naps peacefully, wrapped in his own winter coat.

"Oh my god," Minghao says a little too loudly. Seokmin elbows him in the ribs, and Seungcheol sends them both a sly smile, not bothering to answer as he turns onto the main road.

"So, Seokmin," Seungcheol says when they're almost at the campus and Seokmin's fingers aren't numb anymore. "What happened with Jihoon?"

Seokmin feels his face heat up, and he bites his lip to keep from smiling. "Nothing."

"Did you guys sleep together?" Jeonghan asks suddenly, apparently awake, and Minghao jerks in his seat, startled at the sound of the other boys voice. Jeonghan rests his cheek against his head-rest so he can look back at Seokmin. His pale skin is flushed from the cold, and he blinks sleepily, and for a moment Seokmin can understand why Seungcheol is so head over heels for the elder.

"No," Seokmin finally says. "We just fell asleep, and then he drove me home in the morning."

"I've known Jihoon almost three years, and I've only been to his house a handful of times," Jeonghan murmurs.

"Really?"

Jeonghan nods, settling back into his seat and facing forward. He reaches out casually and rests his hand over Seungcheol's own on the stick shift. "He doesn't usually let people come over."

Seungkwan's words ring in Seokmin's head-  _ Jihoon doesn't have guests over often _ \- and wonders what the implication of those words were. Was Seokmin a special exception to Jihoon? Did Jihoon regret letting him come over because he was drunk and didn't realize what he was doing?

"I'm glad you didn't sleep with him, though," Jeonghan continues, cutting through Seokmin's train of thought. "Jihoon needs someone like you in his life."

"Someone like me?" Seokmin repeats.

"Yeah, you know," Jeonghan turns to shoot him a dazzling smile that leaves Seokmin feeling a little flustered. "Someone like you. Soft."

Seokmin furrows his brow. "I'm not soft."

Minghao snorts, and Seungcheol laughs loudly. Jeonghan just winks at him, turning back around in his seat.

 

It’s only Tuesday morning at five am that Seokmin wakes up in a cold sweat remembering  _ he  _ had promised to text Jihoon, not the other way around. He’s so panicked about it he sends “SORRY” in all caps to the other in that very moment and then knocks back out five minutes later.

When his alarm goes off at eight, he goes about his usual morning routine, completely forgetting the text. It isn’t until he’s squished in the backseat of Mingyu’s car between Minghao and Soonyoung that his phone suddenly buzzes in his pocket.

 

**_jihoon:_ ** _ what did you do. _

 

Seokmin stares at it, brow furrowed as he tries to remember why he sent a hasty apology at 5:19 in the morning. Soonyoung peers over his shoulder to read the text.

“What did you do?” Soonyoung repeats. Minghao snatches the phone out of his hand to read the text as well. Seokmin is just confused, until he remembers his panic this morning.

“Ah, fuck,” He mutters under his breath, and everyone in the car suddenly whips around to stare at him.

“Did you just curse?” Mingyu asks, shocked, glancing at him through the rearview window. Seokmin takes his phone back from Minghao and tries not to pout.

“Jihoon is already a bad influence on him,” Wonwoo jokes from the passenger seat.

“Are we getting coffee?” Seokmin asks, still staring at his phone and ignoring his friends’ teasing. 

“Yeah,” Mingyu replies the same time Wonwoo grumbles, “Fuck no.”

There’s a moment of tense silent, both boys in the front staring at each other as Mingyu pulls up to a stop light.

“No?” Mingyu repeats, and Wonwoo flushes a bright red.

“It’s embarrassing,” He whispers in a small voice. 

“It’s an ego boost is what it is,” Minghao chimes in, kicking his feet up so his boots are resting on the shoulders of Wonwoo’s seat. “His dick is so big it didn’t even fit? Junhui probably feels like a god now.”

Wonwoo looks like he wants to die of humiliation, burying his face in his coat hood and slumping down in his seat. He definitely looks unhappy about it, but when Mingyu pulls into the parking lot for the coffee shop, he doesn’t protest.

Sure enough, Junhui is behind the register when they walk in, and his eyes light up when he spots them. Wonwoo keeps his eyes down and avoids eye contact, being marched forward by Mingyu, who looks too cheerful for his own good.

“Good morning,” Mingyu greets, and Junhui gives him a sly smile, resting his chin in his hand and leaning forward.

“Good morning,” He says. He dips his chin, trying to catch Wonwoo’s gaze. “Good morning to you, too, Wonwoo.”

Wonwoo mumbles something incoherent, face flushing a bright red and intently staring at his own shoes. Junhui looks amused, and a little fond, until Minghao shoves his way to the front and slaps his money on the counter, reciting his order in Chinese.

Junhui is momentarily distracted, and Seokmin takes the opportunity to pull his phone out again.

 

**_seokmin_ ** _ : i didn’t text you all weekend :-( i forgot i said i would _

 

He reads it over after sending, and suddenly behind the coffee machines he hears a familiar voice grumble, “That’s bullshit.”

Seokmin raises a brow. In a second, his phone pings in his hand.

 

**_jihoon:_ ** _ okay. _

 

Seokmin frowns to himself. “It’s not bullshit!” He says, raising his voice a little. 

His friends pause their ordering to give him a confused look, and moment later Jihoon’s head pokes out around the coffee machines. When he spots Seokmin, he turns a thorough bright pink color, sputtering. He doesn’t even manage to say anything coherent before he dives back behind the machines to hide his embarrassment.

Junhui shoots Seokmin a delighted look, grinning. “You really got under his skin.”

“Shut the fuck up, Jun!” Jihoon’s voice snaps back.

Seokmin tries to hide his smile as he types out another text.

 

**_seokmin:_ ** _ do you wanna hang out after you get off work? :-) _

**_jihoon:_ ** _ … _

**_jihoon:_ ** _ i’ll see you at 2. _

 

Seokmin is sure he has the stupidest grin on his face right now.

 

“It’s really not that hard,” Jisoo explains calmly. “It’s like this; which of the following domains is the function if f times x equals tan, times x plus pi divided by two differentiable?”

Seokmin looks up from his own textbook, head reeling from Jisoo’s words. “What?”

Jeonghan stares at Jisoo with a distraught look. “I have absolutely no idea what you just said to me.”

It’s almost two, and Seokmin is killing time by finishing homework in the library with Seungcheol, Jisoo, and Jeonghan. Seungcheol has that stupid, love-struck look on his face he gets every time Jeonghan’s around, content to just watch Jisoo attempt to tutor Jeonghan in Calculus.

Attempt was the best word Seokmin could use, because he’s been listening to them for twenty minutes and Jeonghan hasn’t seemed to understand anything Jisoo has been saying. But then again, Seokmin doesn’t understand anything he’s saying either.

Jisoo looks between the three of them, a little exasperated. “It’s basic Calculus. As long as you know how to add pi and divide it by two differentiable the hardest parts over.” 

“I have a headache,” Jeonghan announces in a strained voice. He leans over and rests his head on Jisoo’s shoulder, closing his eyes. Seokmin tries to see if Seungcheol looks upset, but he doesn’t seem bothered at all by the other two’s intimacy.

“Hey, Jihoon,” Jisoo says suddenly, looking over Seungcheol’s shoulder. Seokmin whips around only to find Jihoon standing behind him, arms full of heavy looking books.

“What are you doing here?” Seokmin asks, surprised.

Jihoon gives him a dirty look. “I go to this school, stupid.”

Seokmin checks his watch. “I thought you get off at two?”

“I said I’d see you at two. I got off at one,” Jihoon slides into the seat beside him, dumping his books onto the table. 

“Big date planned?” Jeonghan asks, smirking at them. 

Jihoon glares at him, picking up one of the books and slamming it on the table so Jeonghan jumps in his seat.

“Don’t you guys have somewhere to go fuck?” Jihoon snaps. “Like the bathroom, or the English lecture hall?”

Jisoo turns a bright shade of pink, and Jeonghan clicks his tongue disapprovingly. “That was one time!”

Seungcheol still doesn’t look bothered at all by what was transpiring. Seokmin was more than a little confused at this point, but he figures it wasn’t any of his business in the first place.

“We’re gonna hang out,” He finally chimes in, smiling. He turns to Jihoon. “Did you eat yet? We can get a late lunch.”

Jihoon avoids his gaze, instead preoccupying himself with flipping through one of his books. “I didn’t eat,” He mumbles, mouth twisted into a sour look. 

Jeonghan smirks at them both across the table. 

 

Everything is going smoothly. Seokmin takes him to a nice cafe off campus, and Jihoon doesn’t talk much as they eat, although he does turn a nice shade of pink every time he catches Seokmin staring at him with heart eyes. Seokmin can’t help it, really. He’s just so adorable.

Everything is going smoothly, until they leave the cafe and are walking to Jihoon’s car and an expensive looking Porsche pulls into a spot a few cars away. Jihoon suddenly comes to a stop, Seokmin almost walking into him in surprise. When the doors of the car open, an unfamiliar man steps out of the drivers side, and Yoongi steps out of the passenger side.

The man says something to Yoongi, and Yoongi laughs, a gummy sort of smile that was actually cute if Seokmin was being honest. The man puts his arm around Yoongi’s waist, smiling, and that’s when Yoongi spots Jihoon.

Yoongi doesn’t stop walking. He doesn’t give any indication he knows Jihoon other than a brief glance at him and Seokmin. The man doesn’t even notice Yoongi’s momentary distraction, still talking cheerily as they head towards the cafe. Yoongi looks away just as quickly and doesn’t look back.

Seokmin can feel the way Jihoon tenses up, but he doesn’t look at his face. Instead he pushes him towards his car with a hand on his lower back, and Jihoon lets him.

When they’re in the car, Seokmin can see in the way Jihoon’s jaw clenches and how he pointedly avoids looking anywhere but straight ahead that he’s upset. Seokmin feels something like jealousy and annoyance bubble up inside him, which surprises him. He’s not usually the jealous type, or the type to get angry at all, but seeing how affected Jihoon was from something as simple as seeing Yoongi for a few seconds makes his chest twist uncomfortably.

They don’t talk the entire ride back. Seokmin doesn’t find it awkward, but he’s having an inner battle trying to think of something to say anyway, just because he wants to distract Jihoon. He can’t seem to have a coherent thought other than  _ Yoongi is an asshole.  _

Jihoon pulls into Seokmin’s apartment complex much sooner than he thought, and when he cuts the engine the silence seems even thicker than it was before. Seokmin watches the way Jihoon squeezes the steering wheel rhythmically, the muscles in his forearms shifting with every moment.

“I’m going to go now,” Seokmin eventually says, trying to catch Jihoon’s eye. It takes a second, but Jihoon finally looks up. Seokmin can’t read anything from his facial expression, so he can’t tell if he’s still upset or not. 

Jihoon licks his lips nervously. “Okay.”

Seokmin waits for him to say something else, but he doesn’t. He tries not to let it sadden him too much, and instead reaches for the door handle.

“Wait,” Jihoon gasps, grabbing hold of Seokmin’s wrist and pulling him back.

Seokmin turns back around. Jihoon had leaned forward so when Seokmin turns his head to look at him, they’re faces are just a few inches apart. Seokmin blinks, surprised at the closeness. Jihoon’s eyes flicker from the younger’s own to his lips and back again.

Seokmin’s heart flutters, and his brain short circuits to a stop when Jihoon leans in to kiss him. He has to remind himself to breathe out of his nose, and close his eyes because he was going cross-eyed and it was just weird to kiss with your eyes open. 

He can feel Jihoon’s hand sliding up his arm, and he takes this as permission to move his own hands up to cup Jihoon’s face in them. Jihoon is warm and soft, and the cologne he’s wearing his stale, but this close Seokmin can smell it clearly and he can’t get enough. 

Jihoon makes a faint noise between their mouths, something like a whimper, and Seokmin’s heart lurches when the elder uses both hands to grab a fistful of Seokmin’s own shirt and pull him even closer. Seokmin’s only kissed a handful of people his whole life (and no, he doesn’t count that one time Mingyu got drunk when they were fifteen and tried to make out with him in the bathroom while Seokmin was trying to pee.) and Jihoon is definitely his favorite person to kiss as of now.

They both jump apart when the car lurches with a resounding smack. The perpetrator is Jieqiong, who is now lying face first on the front hood of Jihoon’s car, laughing hysterically.

Minghao follows her out of the apartment building, looking amused until he spots Seokmin. He starts to pull Jieqiong off, but she just rolls over onto her back, giggling.

Seokmin opens the passenger door and sticks one foot out. “Is she drunk?”

Minghao nods, grinning as Jieqiong tugs at his shirt and whines when he tries to pull away. 

“It’s four in the afternoon,” Jihoon says in a clearly unamused voice. His face is flushed, and his lips are a little swollen, but other than that he gives no indication that he and Seokmin were just having a full blown make out session just a few seconds ago.

Minghao squats in front of the car to let Jieqiong climb on his back. He hoists her up easily, standing with fluid grace. Jieqiong rests her head against his shoulder and lets her long hair hang over his chest like a cloak.

“It’s five o'clock somewhere, right?” Minghao jokes. He looks between the two of them, raising an eyebrow. “Why do you guys look so sweaty? Were you fucking?”

“No!” Seokmin says, the same time Jihoon snaps, “We weren’t fucking!”

Minghao snickers to himself. “Okay, whatever you say.”

He heads towards an unfamiliar car a few spaces away (Seokmin assumes it’s Jieqiong’s car), and opens the passenger door. He begins gently helping Jieqiong in, and he’s so tender with her Seokmin thinks he would definitely fall for Minghao if the other boy wasn’t straight.

Jihoon clears his throat, and Seokmin is snapped out of his thoughts and back to reality. Jihoon looks a little embarrassed when he glances at him, and Seokmin can’t help but grin stupidly.

“Stop it, you look like an idiot,” Jihoon grumbles. 

Seokmin just smiles wider. “I’ll see you soon, yeah? Will you text me?” 

Jihoon takes a second to respond, clearly reveling in the way Seokmin is so on edge with hopefulness. “Yeah, I’ll text you.”

Seokmin leans in to kiss him on the cheek, leaving Jihoon red and sputtering, and it’s definitely worth it even if the elder kicks him out of the car and curses at him as he speeds off.

 

Seokmin spends the rest of the week and most of the weekend lazing around the apartment, checking his phone periodically to see if Jihoon had texted him (he hadn’t), and trying to decide if should text him first (he should).

They’re all crowded in Wonwoo’s room watching a movie. Mingyu was leaning against the headboard, cradling Wonwoo’s head in his lap. Seokmin was using Minghao’s arm as a pillow, and on Minghao’s other arm, Jieqiong rested her head. The fact that she had come over quite a few times within the span of a week and (from what he could tell) it hadn’t just been for sex this time made Seokmin happy. Minghao kept glancing at her and smiling to himself, and no one had the heart to tease him for it.

“Just text him again, he obviously likes you,” Mingyu says, and Seokmin is thrown out of his thoughts with a jolt of nervousness remembering they were still talking about Jihoon.

“You know what’s weird,” Jieqiong adds, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bag tucked between Minghao’s thighs. “That Jeonghan and his roommate said he doesn’t have people over a lot. What does that even mean?”

“Right?” Seokmin slaps his hand against Mingyu’s knee with purpose. “Like, how am I supposed to respond to that? What am I supposed to do with that information?”

“Maybe it means you’re special,” Minghao suggests. “You know, he likes you so much you’re one of the only people he lets into his house.”

“I’m pretty sure he just let me in because he was drunk.”

“Jeonghan was stunned you left with him,” Wonwoo says. “Said he’d never seen Jihoon take someone home.”

Seokmin can feel his stomach twist with butterflies, and he hides his red face in Minghao’s shirt. 

“What happened with Jeonghan, anyway? Seungcheol never elaborated even when I was with them both the other day,” He asks, trying to direct the conversation somewhere else.

Mingyu claps suddenly, making all of them jump, and grins wickedly at him. “Oh my god, I completely forgot to tell you. You know his roommate Jisoo?”

Seokmin nods. “Yeah, he was with us, too.”

“Well, it turns out he and Jeonghan have been dating for like, six years. And they were looking for a third.”

“Like a unicorn?” Jieqiong pipes up.

“What’s a unicorn?” Minghao asks.

“It’s like a bisexual person that is down for a threesome but that’s it. They just want them for sex, so-“

“Anyway!” Mingyu shouts over her, glaring at the two of them. “Like I was saying, they were looking for a third. Not a unicorn thing, but an actual third. They wanted a three way relationship.”

Seokmin raises his brows. “Does Seungcheol even like Jisoo, though? He’s been after Jeonghan for months.”

“That’s the thing,” Mingyu looks too excited for his own good, smoothing his hands over Wonwoo’s chest as he spoke like it was helping him from leaping out of the bed to tell his story. “Apparently Seungcheol hooked up with Jisoo after the party. Just Jisoo. And now he likes them both.”

“Jisoo’s got a motorcycle,” Jieqiong suddenly announces. She sighs dreamily. “That’s so hot.”

“It’s not that hot,” Minghao grumbles, tightening his arm around her, and she giggles.

Seokmin’s phone suddenly buzzes in his hand, and all of them whip their heads around comically to stare at it. It keeps buzzing, and the caller ID reads “ _ Jihoon _ ”.

“Oh, my god,” Seokmin gasps, lurching up into a sitting position. Mingyu pauses the movie, and the room is thrown into silence. Seokmin clears his throat, swiping the green button. “Hello?”

“Hey,” Comes Jihoon’s voice, and all of his friends anticipating looks telling Seokmin they can all hear the elder on the other end. “Are you busy right now?”

“Uh,” Seokmin says dumbly, staring at his friends for help. Minghao motions for him to continue, mouthing,  _ He wants to see you!  _ “Not really. What’s up?”

“Can I come over?” 

Mingyu and Wonwoo grin stupidly at him, and Minghao looks like he’s about to start laughing, hiding his face in Jieqiong’s shoulder. Seokmin’s stomach turns in knots of excitement.

“Yeah, of course, I mean,” Seokmin glances at his friends. “My roommates are here, but they-”

“Hey, Wonwoo!” Mingyu suddenly shouts, far too loudly for how close they all were. Wonwoo jumps, startled, and Minghao and Jieqiong glare at Mingyu, annoyed. “We have to do that thing!”

“What thing?” Wonwoo asks grumpily.

Mingyu gives him a pointed look. “ _ That thing _ . At Soonyoung’s. Out of the apartment.”

On Seokmin’s other side, Jieqiong slaps Minghao on the chest. “Oh, yeah! That thing! Minghao, didn’t we have to go to that, too?”

Minghao stares at her, until he seems to understand as well, and nods. “Yeah, we should get going.”

“What thing?” Wonwoo asks again, thoroughly confused. “We didn’t have any plans with Soonyoung this-”

He’s cut off with a groan as Mingyu hits him hard with a pillow against his ass, the younger shouting, “Shut up, we have to leave right now!”

Jihoon laughs dully over the phone. “Your roommates aren’t subtle at all.”

“I appreciate them trying,” Seokmin jokes, throwing a grateful smile at Minghao as he and Jieqiong start getting to their feet. Mingyu was slowly beating a whiny Wonwoo towards the edge of the bed with his pillow, and when the elder rolls right off and cries out in pain, Seokmin continues. “You can come over whenever, if you want.”

“Cool, I’ll be there in half an hour.” 

Before Seokmin can say goodbye, Jihoon is hanging up. On the floor, Wonwoo is wailing childishly as Mingyu tries to pull him to his feet. From the kitchen, he hears Jieqiong shout, “Your apartment is gross!” and Minghao laughing loudly. 

 

Of all things, Seokmin isn’t expecting a red-eyed and nervous looking Jihoon to appear on his doorstep. If anything, he was waiting on a snarky call from the elder, or a text yelling at him to open the building’s front door. But when he buzzes him up and throws open his apartment door, he finds Jihoon avoiding his gaze, staring at the welcome mat like he was speaking directly to it instead of Seokmin.

“Hey,” Seokmin says, that immediate butterfly feeling he gets from just the thought of the other boy being replaced with anxiousness over his distraught look. He tries to plaster a smile on his face and not look too concerned out of sheer politeness.

“Hey,” Jihoon grumbles. When he finally looks up, he still avoids Seokmin’s eyes, instead looking at the wall behind his head. “Can I come in?”

Seokmin swings the door open further and steps back, gesturing for Jihoon to enter. He shuffles inside a little awkwardly, looking around unsurely like he isn't sure where to go from here.

Seokmin closes the door and starts heading into the kitchen, trying his best to act normal when it was clear Jihoon was feeling the complete opposite. "Do you want some coffee?"

"Yeah, thanks," Jihoon says. Seokmin hums to himself as he digs through the cabinets. He briefly wonders if Jihoon will judge the quality of his coffee compared to that of the cafe the elder works at.

“Did something happen?” Seokmin asks, back still turned.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, it seems like you made a split second decision to come over.”

Jihoon is quiet for a moment, and the only noise is the bubbling of the coffee pot. “Nothing happened,” He eventually says in what was clearly supposed to be a casual voice.

Seokmin has a very vivid flashback to last Saturday, when Jihoon was driving him home after staying the night and Seokmin had asked him if he remembered the fight with Yoongi. Jihoon had had the same answer then, too-  _ Nothing happened. _

Seokmin’s chest twists tightly as he realizes something must’ve happened again with Yoongi and that’s why Jihoon had called him. Although he knows it might not be true and he shouldn’t let his thoughts wander, a voice in the back of his head tells him he might just be Jihoon’s rebound.

He grips the two mugs in his hands tightly. He can feel words bubbling up in his throat, things he shouldn’t be saying, but he can’t stop them. He spins around to face Jihoon, who’s sitting at the kitchen table, hands in his lap.

“Did something happen with Yoongi?”

Jihoon’s face falls just the slightest, and he furrows his brow. “What? No.”

Seokmin presses his lips together. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Jihoon snaps. “I said no.”

The words keep coming up, and the voice in the back of his head is egging him on. “It just seems like you only want to be with me when Yoongi’s upset you.”

Jihoon narrows his eyes. “Where’d you come up with a stupid idea like that?”

“I mean, let’s look at the facts,” Seokmin can feel his hands shaking slightly, and he puts the mugs down for fear of dropping them. “Last week you only wanted me at the party so I could shield you if you ran into him. Then you brought me home when you didn’t want to be alone because you fought with him. On Tuesday you only kissed me after we saw Yoongi in the parking lot. And now, after not contacting me all week, you suddenly want to come over and see me,” Seokmin takes a deep breath, steadfastly maintaining eye contact with the elder. “So,forgive me for not believing you when you say nothing happened. And you tell me where you think I came up with a ‘ _ stupid idea like that _ ’.”

Jihoon gets to his feet, the chair scraping the floor loudly. His hands are clenched into fists, and he swallows hard before speaking. “You don’t know anything.”

“I know you’re using me as a rebound,” Seokmin shoots back.

“So what if I am?” Jihoon demands, voice raising to an almost shout. “What are you going to do about it?!”

Seokmin’s heart takes a hit and drops into his stomach. He suddenly feels sick, and he can feel his face visibly changing from angry to dejected. The tension in the air is thick and uncomfortable, and Seokmin suddenly regrets letting Jihoon come over. 

His eyes are stinging with tears, much to his chagrin, and he can’t help the way his voice wobbles when he says, “But I like you, Jihoon. A lot.”

Jihoon’s jaw clenches, and he glares at Seokmin, grabbing his coat off the table. “Nobody asked you to do that.” 

Seokmin can’t think of anything to say fast enough, and when he does Jihoon is already slamming the door closed behind him.

 

On Wednesday morning, Seokmin still hasn’t spoken to Jihoon, and his stomach is still in knots. He’s grateful for his friends trying to cheer him up, or get him to talk about what happened, but he just wants to forget about it. He’d rather they act like everything was normal than walk on eggshells around him.

Seokmin doesn’t even realize they’re going to the coffee shop until Mingyu pulls into the parking lot. Everyone in the car looks at him, and he glares purposefully at Mingyu.

“Seokmin-” Mingyu begins.

“Fuck you,” Seokmin snaps. “Just leave me alone, okay? I’m not a fucking kid, I can deal with my feelings like a grown up.”

Minghao looks shocked. Wonwoo actually turns around in his seat to look at Seokmin with a concerned look, and Mingyu looks like someone just punched him in the face.

There’s a long, tense silence. Seokmin has known Mingyu since he was twelve, and he doesn’t think he’s ever cursed at him the entire time they’ve known each other. He feels a little bad, but at the same time, he’s tired and cranky and really just wants everyone to leave him alone.

“Okay,” Mingyu finally says quietly. He turns around in his seat and starts the car back up, and they drive the rest of the way to campus in silence.

 

“We’re going drinking,” Minghao announces Friday night, poking his head in Seokmin’s room. “You wanna come?”

Seokmin shakes his head from where he’s laying on his bed, flipping through one of his textbooks. “No.”

Minghao shrugs, leaving him to his solitude. He can hear Mingyu and Wonwoo getting ready in the other room, and Soonyoung must’ve come over because he hears his voice in the kitchen.

There’s a knock on his door, and he looks up to find Jieqiong standing there, leaning against the doorframe and putting earrings on.

“You don’t wanna come?” She asks. She looks nice, with a tight skirt and matching top on, and her hair curls naturally down her back. Seokmin shakes his head again.

Jieqiong looks over her shoulder down the hall, and then steps into the room, closing the door behind her. Seokmin raises a brow and watches as she moves to sit on the bed by his feet.

“Don’t tell anyone this, okay?” She bites her lip, looking down at her shoes. “Minghao is technically my rebound.”

Seokmin gets a sinking feeling in his stomach. It must show on his face, though, because Jieqiong immediately shakes her head.

“No, it’s not like that. I really like him. But I just broke up with my girlfriend a few weeks ago,” She twists her fingers together. “He was going to just be my rebound, but I ended up liking him more than I thought. To the point that I can see a relationship with him that lasts a lot longer than I thought it would.”

Seokmin frowns. “What does this have to do with me?”

Jieqiong gives him a pointed look. “I’m getting to that, asshole. What I’m saying is even if Jihoon was using you as a rebound, there’s no reason he can’t fall for you like I did with Minghao. It happens, you know. You just want someone there to fill your ex’s presence, and then you realize they’re even better than your ex.”

“I don’t think anyone is better than Yoongi in Jihoon’s eyes,” Seokmin laughs bitterly. Jieqiong gives him a sympathetic look.

“You know Yoongi’s in one of my classes,” She says. “He asked me about you.”

Seokmin is genuinely surprised. “He did?”

She nods. “Yeah. ‘Cause I was talking to my friend about Minghao and his roommates, and I mentioned your name, and he overheard. Said he really wanted to talk to you.” 

“Why would he want to talk to me?”

“I don’t think it was anything bad. He looked sincere,” She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, clearing her throat. “He’s probably going to be at the club tonight… You should really come. Maybe you can get some clarity on the situation.”

Seokmin isn’t sure if Jihoon would like him talking to Yoongi. Despite him still being raw over their fight, he does care about Jihoon, and he wouldn’t want to do something to upset him. But something in him tells him he might be able to understand Jihoon better if he can talk to the person he was with for three years, so he nods.

“Yeah, okay, I’ll come.”

Jieqiong claps her hands together. “Yes! You’ll have fun, too, I promise. We can get drunk together.”

“I don’t drink,” Seokmin recites, as he always does.

“That’s fine,” Jieqiong shrugs. “I can get drunk and you can make sure I don’t die.”

Seokmin laughs. “Okay, sounds like a plan.”

His bedroom door slams open suddenly, and Minghao stands there, frowning at the two of them.

“What are you doing?” He asks, suspicious. 

Jieqiong pats Seokmin’s thigh. “I was offering to suck his dick.”

“He’s gay,” Minghao immediately fires back.

“That’s never stopped me before,” Jieqiong jokes. She moves towards Minghao and loops her arms around his neck. “Don’t worry, baby, the only dick I’ll suck is yours.”

Minghao grins stupidly at her. Seokmin coughs loudly. “Excuse me, you’re still in my room, you know.”

 

Seokmin has only been to an actual nightclub three times in his life, and each time he hated it. Each time he was also dragged by Minghao, and even though it’s technically Minghao’s girlfriend who’s dragging him this time, he still blames the other boy.

They’re standing in line waiting to get in, and honestly who’s idea was it to go to a club where they’d have to queue up when it was below freezing out? Seokmin already regrets coming out as the group of them huddle together, trying to steal each other’s body heat. Minghao hugs Jieqiong from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder, and Mingyu was coddling Wonwoo in his arms like a child, so Seokmin was left trying to squeeze himself as close as possible to Soonyoung. The elder was kind enough to let him, wrapping an arm around Seokmin’s waist to keep him close.

Someone comes barging through the line from the front, shoving past people and breaking through. It’s Junhui, and he comes to a halt in front of them, looking triumphant despite the multiple curses being yelled at him from all directions.

“Why are you guys waiting?” He asks. He looks at Mingyu and Wonwoo. He puckers his lips, making gross kissy noises, and doesn’t stop until both of them lean forward and each give him a kiss.

Jieqiong and Minghao both make faces. “Keep it PG, guys,” Jieqiong says.

“You literally just told Minghao you were gonna suck his dick in front of me earlier,” Seokmin shoots back.

Jieqiong nods. “Fair point. Keep kissing.”

“My friend is the bouncer,” Junhui says, shooting Jieqiong an amused look. “C’mon, you guys don’t need to wait.”

He lifts the velvet rope and escorts them out of the line. They’re almost at the doors when Seokmin spots a familiar, bleach blonde boy leaning against the wall meters feet away from the the entrance, back facing them.

“Uh, I’ll be in in a sec,” He says, waving them off. None of them seem bothered by his sudden distraction, and Junhui just nods at him and then at the bouncer before they all disappear into the club. 

He approaches the boy, nose tickling from the smell of smoke. “Yoongi?”

The boy turns around and it is indeed Yoongi, cigarette tucked delicately between his teeth. His eyebrows raise behind his bangs when he realizes who it is, and takes the cigarette out of his mouth before speaking.

“Oh, shit, hey man,” He says. His voice is raspy, and he exhales a cloud of smoke a second later, tilting his head so it doesn’t blow in Seokmin’s face. “Didn’t know you’d be here.”

“Jieqiong told me you wanted to talk to me?”

Yoongi nods. “Yeah, I did.”

He doesn’t say anything else, and for a second Seokmin wonders if he’s going to elaborate and tell him what he wanted to talk about it. But Yoongi just takes another drag of his cigarette, and continues when he’s finished.

“Uh, I just, wanted to talk about, you know,” Yoongi sniffs, looking down at his scuffed up sneakers. “Jihoon, you know. What happened between us.”

Seokmin wants to be angry, because if it weren’t for Yoongi he might actually have a chance to be something more than a rebound to Jihoon. But up close he can see how tired Yoongi looks, the dark circles under his eyes and the way his eyes flicker uncertainly as he tries to formulate his thoughts into words. He can’t be mad at him when he didn’t even know his half of what happened.

“I love Jihoon, okay?” Yoongi finally says, looking up to meet the younger’s gaze. Seokmin stares at him. “It’s not like we fell out of love or something. I still love him. He’s just-” Yoongi scrunches up his face, rubbing at it with his free hand. “-he’s really hard to be with. He’s hard to love.”

“What do you mean?” Seokmin asks, although he’s not sure he wants to know.

Yoongi tucks the cigarette back between his teeth and just continues talking, the wispy smoke curling out of his mouth and nostrils as he does. “He doesn’t do good with emotional stuff. Or committed relationships. He’s got some social anxiety. He sucks at communicating and he doesn’t know how to deal with it when he knows someone loves him, even if he loves them back. We used to fight a lot. Like… a lot.”

Seokmin snorts. “Yeah, so I’ve heard.”

He immediately regrets it when Yoongi looks at him with sad eyes. “I didn’t like fighting with him. We just had really similar personalities. We were both hot heads,” He laughs, and it sounds a little hollow. “We both escalate shit. And he always got physical. He didn’t know how to express himself with words so he would just throw shit at me.”

Seokmin thinks back to the night of the party, when Jihoon threw his beer at Yoongi’s head, or when Jieqiong said she had heard lamps breaking in Yoongi’s apartment when they’d broken up. His stomach twists, unsettling.

“Sometimes people just aren’t meant to be together, you know?” Yoongi’s cigarette is mostly ash now, and he flicks it to the ground, stepping on it with his sneakers. His eyes are oddly unfocused, a little glassy like if Seokmin said the wrong thing he might cry. “I love him a lot, but I knew it wouldn’t work out. I dumped him figuring it’d be easy if he saw me as the bad guy. Then he’d hate me and eventually we could both move on. But he keeps showing up in my life and it’s all fucking me over because all I can think about is how we aren’t right for each other.”

Seokmin isn’t sure if he should comfort Yoongi or not. He’s still a little confused as to why Yoongi was telling him all of this, but it’s putting a lot of things about Jihoon that he didn’t know and why he acted the way he did into perspective.

“Anyway,” Yoongi continues. He blinks a few times to clear his eyes and looks back at Seokmin. “My point is this. You’re very clearly the exact opposite of Jihoon. And I know he’s really hard to deal with, and he’s got an attitude, but I’m asking you as someone who loves him a lot, please don’t give up. He really needs someone like you.”

Seokmin suddenly feels the need to cry. His eyes are definitely welling up a little, and he wipes at them with the sleeve of his jacket, trying not to let his voice shake. “I think he’s just using me as a rebound.”

“Hey, don’t cry, man,” Yoongi pats him gingerly on the back, giving him a little smile. “I was his rebound from his last girlfriend, and we dated for three years. It happens, you know?”

Jieqiong had said the exact same thing. Seokmin kind of wants to throw his arms around Yoongi and hug him, but he refrains solely because he thinks the elder will slap him if he does.

 

Movies are liars, because if it were up to Seokmin, he would run straight to Jihoon’s house and dramatically lift him into his arms and kiss him senseless. But movies aren’t like that, and it’s still below freezing out, and Jihoon probably lives about five miles away, so there’s no way Seokmin is going to run to him like that. 

Instead, he hails a cab after saying a thankful goodbye to Yoongi and gives him Jeonghan’s address, just because he can’t remember what Jihoon’s is. On the way to Jeonghan’s, like he’d hoped, the cab drives past Jihoon’s house, and Seokmin immediately shouts for the driver to stop. He feels a little bad, because he’s being really loud and it’s almost midnight, but he tips the guy heavily. He nearly trips over his own two feet as he runs to the front door, and doesn’t even bother wondering if anyone’s sleeping before he starts pressing the doorbell repeatedly like a child.

He can hear the bell echoing in the house, and footsteps approaching the door. The lock clicks and it swings open a second later to reveal Seungkwan.

Despite the hour, he doesn’t look tired at all, and is dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, hair pushed back messily with a very pink headband that sported cat ears. 

“Oh, hey,” He greets Seokmin, as though this were normal behaviour. “I think Jihoon’s asleep right now.”

“Can I come in anyway?” Seokmin asks, shifting from one foot to the other, nervousness seeping from every pore.

Seungkwan shrugs and gestures for him to come in. Seokmin gives him an awkward thanks and heads down the hall towards Jihoon’s bedroom.

He raps lightly on the door, listening to the creaking of stairs as Seungkwan heads back upstairs. He knocks harder when no one answers, and just as he’s starting up a loud, heavy rhythm, it’s thrown open and Jihoon stands there, glaring at him.

His face changes immediately when he sees it’s Seokmin, and he pales considerably, almost as though he were scared. He’s dressed in matching blue pajamas, and a glance at his bed tells Seokmin he was indeed sleeping. Sleep would have to wait, though.

“Hey,” Seokmin finally says, breathless. “What’s up?”

Jihoon gives him a wary look. “What are you doing here?”

Seokmin needs to lean against the door frame to catch his breath, suddenly feeling very tired. “I just… missed you.”

Jihoon looks down at his socks, ears turning red. “Why?”

“I told you, I like you.”

Jihoon looks up at that, and for the first time since Seokmin met him, he looks very vulnerable. “But I… you”

“Forget what I said,” Seokmin says, waving his hands dismissively. “I don’t know why I said that, it was stupid of me. I like you so much you make me say stupid things and my brain turns to mush.”

Jihoon turns a lovely shade of pink, twist his hand on the doorknob. “Shut up.”

“I’m sorry,” Seokmin breathes. He reaches out to rest his hand on Jihoon’s cheek, and the elder lets him. His hands are definitely cold, but Jihoon doesn’t seem to mind. “I’m really sorry. Can we please try again? I don’t care if I’m your rebound or not.”

Jihoon leans slightly into his palm, looking back at the floor. “You’re not my rebound,” He mumbles. He bites his lip, glancing up at Seokmin and then back down again. “I like you, too.”

Seokmin can feel his face splitting into a shit-eating grin. Jihoon glares at him, pushing his hand away.

“Say it again,” Seokmin says. Jihoon shakes his head, face twisting as he tries not to smile. Seokmin steps into the room and reaches out for the elder. “C’mon, just once.”

“No, shut up,” Jihoon lets out a gasp when Seokmin accidentally tickles his sides. “Fuck off! I’m not saying it again!”

Seokmin can’t help but laugh, and despite Jihoon’s sour expression, he let’s Seokmin finally get a hold on him and pull him in for a kiss. It’s definitely better than their first, and Seokmin thinks once again that his favorite person to kiss so far is Jihoon.

 

Seokmin doesn’t think their apartment is big enough for this many people, but somehow they all manage to squeeze into their kitchen for dinner. Jieqiong has to sit in Minghao’s lap, and the same goes for Jeonghan with Seungcheol and Wonwoo with Mingyu, but it works.

“Two in the hole!” Jieqiong is shouting across the table at Junhui. They’ve been arguing about poker rules for the past half hour, although nobody knew that either of them could even play poker. “You can’t put out seven cards to start with, it has to be five.”

“Not if you’re playing nine!” Junhui shoots back.

“Have you ever played poker?” Jisoo asks from his seat beside Seungcheol, shuffling the deck of cards expertly between his hands.

“You don’t have to play to know the rules,” Junhui insists stubbornly.

Minghao frowns. “I don’t know, nine definitely doesn’t sound right.”

Jihoon slams his beer bottle on the table, looking annoyed. “Can we just fucking play? You’re all too drunk to know what’s going on, anyway.”

Jeonghan makes a tsking noise, shifting in Seungcheol’s lap. “Jihoon, patience. Seokmin is relaxed, why can’t you be?”

Seokmin looks up from where he’d been squatting beside the oven, dutifully watching the chicken roast. “Huh?”

“Seokmin doesn’t know what’s going on, either!” Jihoon snaps. “And he’s the only sober one!”

“I think the chicken burnt,” Seokmin says.

“We’re playing five, two in the hole,” Jieqiong insists.

“We don’t even have a betting pool,” Wonwoo comments.

Jihoon gets to his feet, the whole table shifting. “I’m not playing,” He announces.

The others are too busy arguing to care, but Seokmin immediately gets to his feet and chases after him. He catches him in the hallway, pulling him close by his hips and pressing him against the wall.

“Are you okay?” Seokmin asks gently despite their position.

“Your friends are giving me a headache,” Jihoon says in an almost whiny voice.

“They’re always like that,” Seokmin reaches up and rubs at Jihoon’s temples with his thumbs. “Do you want to lie down in my room?”

Jihoon closes his eyes, face smoothing out the longer Seokmin rubs at his head. “Yeah.”

Seokmin leads him to his room, and when Jihoon sits on his bed he’s filled with a sudden rush of adoration, so strong it makes his knees weak. He must be making a funny face because Jihoon frowns.

“What are you doing?” He asks.

Seokmin has to take a moment to compose himself before he can answer. He smiles fondly at Jihoon, moving towards him so he can sink to his knees and he’s at eye level with him. Jihoon watches him suspiciously, like he thinks he’s going to try something funny.

“Hey,” Seokmin whispers. 

“...Hey,” Jihoon replies, amused.

“I have to tell you something.”

Jihoon looks at him expectantly, raising a brow. Seokmin reaches out to tuck a few hairs behind Jihoon’s ears, enjoying the way Jihoon’s ears burn red when he touches them.

“You’re so fucking cute,” Seokmin finally says.

Jihoon kicks him in the chest, and it hurts, but Seokmin is too happy to care, anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> no proof reading we die like men  
> (seriously though if you see any grammatical/spelling errors lemme know because i spit out the last half of this within like three hours lmfao)  
> 


End file.
